Before We Turn to Stone
by trappedinthestars
Summary: While on a school trip to Peru, the Anubis gang stumbles upon jewels in an abandoned Inca burial ground. What they don't know is that the jewels contain supernatural abilities that are unleashed when the jewels are broken. Not only that, but a cursed soul who happens to want to destroy the world is also trapped in the jewels. Guess they shouldn't have trusted Alfie with them. AU
1. Ghosts, Smoke, and Four Inch Heels

_**AN**_ _ **: Hello fellow readers! This is a new idea that has been floating around in my head for quite some time. It has been awhile since I have posted something new, so I thought this would be fun. All you really need to know is that this story occurs during season 2, but it doesn't contain any of the same events. There are major differences like Mick and Eddie are both living at Anubis house and I am incorporating a different mystery and adventure. There are two original characters and a villain, but those are the only new main characters that I am introducing. There are no couples as of now, but that'll change with further progression of the story and your comments. Hope you enjoy!**_

 _Summary_ _: While on a school trip to Peru, the Anubis gang stumbles upon jewels in an abandoned Incan burial ground. What they don't know is that the jewels contain supernatural abilities that are unleashed when the jewels are broken. Not only that, but a cursed soul is also trapped in the jewels. Soon they find themselves tangled in another mystery only this time all of them are part of the adventure._

Chapter 1: Ghosts, Smoke, and Four Inch Heels

"How much farther do we have to go?" Amber asked as she trudged up the slope behind everyone else.

The guide looked back at her for a brief second. "Not much. We're here. Welcome to the Ancient city of Cusco!"

"Really? This is what we came here for, a bunch of rocks?" Amber stared at the area in utter shock.

Nina smiled and lightly elbowed her friend. "Come on Amber. There is so much history and culture here to appreciate."

"Say that to my shoes," Amber replied.

Mara rolled her eyes. "They're four inch heels!"

"They're Prada!" Amber defended.

Mara shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Well then," The guide clasped her hands together, "I'll be splitting you all into pairs. Nina and Amber, Fabian and Jerome, Patricia and Mara, Alfie and Eddie, Danielle and Joy, and Mick and Isaac. You are to roam around the area and locate all six spots on your map. The pair to do so first gets to go down in the helicopter."

"How will you know that we've been there?" Mara asked.

"These," The guide tossed each pair a pouch. "You put a flag on wherever you go. Now, anymore questions? No? Good. You have an hour, get started."

The group split up and began searching the area.

"I thought we were going to go look as a group," Fabian stated.

Amber shrugged before looping her arm through Nina's. "Oh well, why don't you go back to your partner?"

Nina shot Fabian an apologetic look as Amber dragged her away.

"Where to first," Jerome put his hand on Fabian's shoulder, "Partner."

(***)

Joy hesitantly trailed behind the girl she had been paired with. She had never seen her before at school, so she could only assume that she was new. Joy figured she would remember a girl with long medium blonde hair that had streaks of random colors at the tips. She also took notice of her light amber brown eyes, her fair skin, and the dimples currently hidden on her face.

"So…" Joy sped up so she was next to the girl. "I'm Joy, and you are?"

The girl looked over at her for a second before returning her gaze to the dozens of rocks around them. "Dani."

"Is that your full name?" Joy questioned.

Danielle shook her head. "Danielle, but I prefer Dani."

Joy nodded. "Dani, got it. Where should we go first?"

Instead of answering Danielle began walking faster almost like she was in search of something. Joy sighed as she followed. _Beautiful and American… great. Like we need more of those._

(***)

"I'm Mick," Mick stared at the boy he had been paired with. "What's your name?"

The boy looked up from the pebble that was in his hand. He watched Mick for a moment before throwing the rock down and hopping off of the flat stone he had previously been seated on.

"Okay then." Mick jogged up to the boy so he could walk beside him, but it seemed like the boy was doing everything in his power to keep away from Mick.

Mick stopped in his tracks and simply watched him as he once again took a seat on a large rock. This was when Mick suddenly took notice of the boy's eyes. They were a dark brown. No, scratch that actually. They were darker than that. Onyx. They were as dark as an onyx and Mick had the strange feeling that if he stared at his eyes any longer they would suck him up and tear him apart like a black hole.

It was odd that that was what he noticed of the boy. Not the mop of curly brown hair on his head, not the pale skin, not the worn leather jacket he held on one arm, not the tattoo on his bicep, or the carved rune he kept flipping over in his left hand. It was his eyes.

Mick suddenly shook his head and he stopped his observations. He approached the boy slowly before taking the map out of the bag they had been handed.

"Anywhere you want to head to first?" He asked.

Mick allowed himself to scan the map for a moment before looking back up at his partner. "Where in-,"

He paused and looked around only to discover that his partner was nowhere in sight.

(***)

"Do we really have to go in here? There are cobwebs," Amber stated as she tiptoed around the space.

"I just want to get to the last site so we don't have to walk back down. Don't you want that for your heels?" Nina pointed out as she looked back at Amber.

Amber sighed as she stared down at her shoes. "These are getting a bit scuffed up."

"Exactly," Nina smiled and walked further, making sure to brush the cobwebs out of the way.

"Are you upset that you weren't paired with Fabian?" Amber asked.

Nina was taken off guard by the question, but she refused to look troubled as she kept her flashlight shining forward. "No, you're my best friend Amber."

"But you, you know," Amber leaned forward and in a sing-songy voice said, "You fancy him."

Nina smiled to herself and turned to look at Amber. "I do, but it's not like he notices."

Amber laughed and said, "Fabian wouldn't realize a girl liked him if she stopped him in the hallway and sang him a ballad before confessing her feelings."

Nina rolled her eyes at the comment and she pushed through yet another set of cobwebs and raised her flashlight up.

As the pair continued to make their way through the dark cave they heard a loud sound. Amber released a shriek and she turned around and tried to run for the exit, but instead ran into a tall body. "I know girls can't help but throw themselves at me, but try to contain yourself."

Amber glared up at Jerome. "Ha ha, very funny."

Jerome chuckled lightly and he looked at Nina who was staring ahead.

"Something wrong?" Fabian asked from behind Jerome.

Nina lightly shook her head. "No, I just could've sworn I heard-,"

"Boo!" Nina, Amber, Jerome, and Fabian all jumped at the sound of someone's voice. Alfie appeared from behind a giant stone. He laughed loudly and held his stomach as Mara, Patricia, and Eddie appeared.

Nina let out a deep breath and brushed a strand of hair out of her eye. "Okay, no more-,"

Before Nina could finish her statement, Mick came frantically running out of a tunnel. "Have any of you seen my partner?"

Fabian opened his mouth to answer, but then another voice echoed from one of the many tunnels leading to the center most of them stood at.

"Hello?" Joy walked out of a tunnel with Danielle and stopped at the sight of the rest of her classmates.

"Have any of you seen a curly dark haired boy?" Mick asked anxiously.

"Isaac?" Danielle questioned. "You lost Isaac?"

Danielle suddenly felt a hand touch her shoulder. She turned and saw Isaac behind her. "There you are."

"Where did you run off to?" Mick asked.

Isaac simply ignored him as his eyes scanned the cave they had all come upon. He ignored the conversations that seemed to have taken over the cave and his eyes suddenly caught sight of a small section from the wall in the back.

Isaac walked over to it and stared at the strange writing etched into the stone. He ran his hand along its surface before his finger ran over a dent that he pressed down on. The small section of the stone wall suddenly opened revealing a small burlap sack. Isaac took the sack out from the wall and he carefully opened it up allowing his eyes to widen at the components inside.

"What is it?" Nina asked as she pushed past Alfie. She stopped in front of Isaac and looked at him for reassurance before he nodded and she looked inside the sack. "Wow… jewels."

She took the sack from Isaac's hand and walked over to Amber, Fabian, Alfie, and Patricia.

"Cool," Alfie snatched the sack from Nina's hand and moved to the corner of the cave.

"Alfie-,"

"Calm down," Alfie stated as he held up his hands. "It's not like I'm going to drop it or-,"

The sack suddenly slipped from his grasp and collided with the hard stone floor. Almost immediately the bag erupted into a yellow dust that filled the entire cave and tunnels. The teens tried to see through the fog, but their visibility was clouded.

"What the-," Patricia breathed in the dust and immediately began coughing.

It only took a moment before everyone else made the same mistake she had and began coughing.

After a minute or two of having their eyes shut Nina opened them and discovered that the dust was gone along with the sack of jewels.

"What just happened?" Mara asked.

The group ignored her question as they exchanged knowing glances.

"Umm, I think we should head back," Fabian suggested.

Everyone nodded in agreement and began filing out of the cave. As they exited, no one noticed Isaac bend down and pick up an unfractured ruby that still lay on the ground. He shoved it into his leather jacket and followed the rest of the group.

(***)

"Since none of you were able to go to all the places, we all have to go down by foot. It's a shame actually, some of you were rather close, but rules are rules. Everyone ready? Great, let's go."

Danielle waited as the group began walking before grabbing Isaac's arm and holding him back. "What was that back there?"

Isaac looked her up and down before snatching his arm away and straightening his leather jacket. He stared at her before running to catch up to the rest of the group and leaving her on her own.

 _ **Back in the cave…**_

Puffy gray smoke rose from the small opening in the stone wall. It expanded quickly till it filled the whole room. Suddenly the smoke swirled together before separating and flying out through the tunnels leaving a shadow on the cave floor. The shadow moved freely and slid across the ground slowly till it was by the writing on the wall.

"Free at last. Now, to find a body,"

 _ **AN: The rest of the chapters in the story will be longer, but I wanted to introduce the main backstory first before hitting you with the essential plot. I promise it will only get better. If you have any questions don't be afraid to ask me. I am free to answer anything and everything. Please favorite, subscribe, and review if you liked and hope to read more!**_

 _ **-Karina**_


	2. Jewels, Letters, and Handcuffs

Chapter 2: Jewels, Letters, and Handcuffs

 _Two weeks later…_

It seemed that all of Anubis house was awake at 7:00 AM. Or at least that's how the crowded kitchen made it seem. Trudy was away on some personal business and the Anubis residents were left to fend for themselves in the morning.

"Move!" Patricia growled as she shoved Mick to the side.

The blonde boy shot her a look before sliding over to the opposite side of the counter and passing Fabian who was crouched under the counter, a cereal bowl on his head.

"What are you doing on the floor?" Mick asked as he snatched a piece of toast from Alfie's hands.

Fabian merely shrugged and he handed Mick his bowl. "Do you mind pouring my cereal? I'm afraid of getting my arms ripped off in battle."

Mick rolled his eyes at the comment and handed the bowl to Jerome before saying, "Can you pour some cereal for Fabian?"

"I would if someone would get their elbow out of my ribs!" Jerome responded.

Amber offered him a smile as she took a banana from the fruit bowl. "My bad,"

Jerome narrowed his eyes at her, but before he could say anything he heard the loud sound of someone clearing their throat.

All the Anubis kids stopped in their tracks and looked over at Victor who stood at the doorway with a single letter in his hand.

"Is it time for mail already?" Alfie asked.

Victor ignored the hyper boy and held up the letter. "It appears to be addressed to all of you. I'll leave it on the table for you to read when you've all settled down."

After his last word, Victor set the letter down and walked out of the room. The students stared at the letter, flashes of curiosity sparking a fire in their eyes.

"Well, who's going to open it?" Jerome asked.

As soon as the question left his lips everyone's heads turned to Nina, who stood in the corner of the room avoiding all the breakfast mayhem.

"Nina?"

At the sound of her name, the girl looked up. "After breakfast," she replied.

The others nodded in agreement and in what felt like a second, the chaos resumed.

(***)

After all the Anubis residents finished eating, silence returned to the group. They all sat in anticipation as Nina ripped open the envelope and pulled out a single scrap of parchment.

Nina cleared her throat and unfolded the paper before beginning to read.

" _To all residents of Anubis house, Isaac Lenard, and Danielle Richards:_

 _The jewels are not all broken. You are not safe._

 _-S."_

Nina felt her hands grow cold and she set down the letter.

"That's it?" Jerome exclaimed in disbelief. He sat forward and took the paper from where it lay on the table. "Must be some sort of joke."

"The jewels?" Mara questioned. "What jewels?"

Nina shrugged and she snatched the letter from Jerome's hands. "Isaac and Danielle? Who are they?"

"They were those two students that went to Peru with us," Mick answered.

"Peru…" Amber muttered the word under her breath and her eyes shot towards Nina. "We have to get to class."

"Aren't we going to talk about this?" Eddie asked.

Fabian shook his head and stood up from his chair. "It's a joke, just like Jerome said. We should just forget about it. Anyways, Amber's right. We're going to be late."

The rest of the teenagers nodded and slowly the group began to head to class. As soon as all the residents were gone, leaving Nina, Amber, and Fabian, Amber took the letter from Nina's hand.

"Another mystery!" she squealed.

"Why are you excited about this?" Fabian asked.

"Because mysteries are fun," Amber told him.

"Mysteries are what have almost gotten us killed," Fabian reminded her.

"Oh, pish posh," she replied before turning towards Nina. "What are you thinking?"

"Peru," Nina answered, "Remember when we were in the caves and we found that bag of jewels. We thought Alfie had broken all of them, so we left. What if they weren't all broken? What if one of those two students has the one that remained whole?"

"I like the way you think," Amber smirked, "So what are we going to do?"

"I think we should go to class and talk about this later," Fabian suggested.

Nina nodded. "I agree."

Amber sighed and handed the letter back to Nina. "Fine… if you want to ruin the fun."

Nina laughed and shoved the letter into her bag. "We can talk after class."

"What about during lunch?" Amber asked.

Nina shook her head and pulled a binder out of her bag. "I can't. I'm going to the police station to recruit some officers for career day. Mr. Sweet set it up for me."

Amber groaned. "Fine, after class."

"Great, now can we go? I don't want to be late. I have astronomy first period," Fabian stated.

The girls nodded and the trio exited Anubis house and headed to school.

(***)

"Thank you Officer Richards," Nina exclaimed as she followed him out of his office.

Officer Richards smiled at the girl and nodded. "Anything for Eric."

Nina returned the gesture and proceeded to exit the building before spotting someone out of the corner of her eye. Seated towards the back was a handsome dark haired boy. His head hung low and he was hunched over with his hands behind his back.

Nina quickly made her way over to the bench, pausing a few feet in front of it, and watching as Officer Richards walked over to the teen.

"When is this going to stop Isaac? This is the third time this week," he reminded him.

Isaac shrugged and sat up so his dark eyes stared at the officer. "I don't know. Guess it's just a bad habit."

"I'll need to tell your father and get an escort to take you back to school," he replied.

At this statement, Isaac jumped up from his seat and shook his head. "C'mon it wasn't that bad. If Mr. Sweet sees me coming back to school in a police car I'll have detention for the rest of my time there."

"I can take him back," Nina interjected. She stepped forward and Officer Richards looked back at the teen.

"That's not necessary, Nina," he told her.

Nina shook her head. "I insist. It would be a waste to have one of your men take him when I'm headed there anyways."

Officer Richards sighed and glanced at Isaac who was staring at Nina with a slightly raised eyebrow. "You're off the hook… for now. We'll talk later. If I see you back here again your father gets a call."

Isaac nodded and gestured to his back. "Will you uncuff me now?"

Officer Richards took out a small set of keys and quickly undid the handcuffs. As soon as they were off, Isaac rubbed his wrists and began to walk out of the building.

Nina rushed to catch up with him causing the skirt she wore to sway and move with the wind.

"Wait up!" She shouted once they were out on the sidewalk.

Isaac sighed and stopped in his tracks, letting Nina catch up to him.

"Isaac, is it?" She asked.

The boy merely stared at her before continuing to walk, this time at a normal pace.

"Not much of a talker? I just saw you talk in there, so why not spare a few words for the girl that just saved you from a year's worth of detention?" Nina pointed out.

Isaac glared at the girl and shoved his hands in his pockets. "I didn't ask you to do that."

"You didn't, but I needed to talk to you," she told him.

Isaac scoffed and returned his eyes to the street in front of him. "I don't even know you."

"Yes, but I know you. I'm Nina. You came to Peru with us about two weeks ago. You were the one that found those jewels," Nina reminded him.

"You remember that?" Isaac asked.

Nina nodded and she rummaged through her bag before pulling out the letter Anubis house had received in the morning. "I do. My friends and I received a letter this morning and I was wondering if you knew anything about it."

"A letter?" Isaac questioned. He took the envelope out of Nina's hands and pulled out the piece of parchment. After a couple seconds of examining it, Isaac froze.

"What?" Nina asked.

"Umm, nothing," Isaac quickly answered.

Nina narrowed her eyes at him and stepped in front of him to block his path. "What is it?"

"Nothing," Isaac replied more firmly.

"I'm not an idiot. I know that you know something," Nina told him.

He shrugged and stepped around her. "It's just a dumb letter."

"Isaac-," Nina said as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't talk to me like you know me," he spat out.

Nina was taken aback by the statement and she let her hand fall to her side. Isaac shook his head, his eyes looking remorseful, but instead of apologizing he dusted off his leather jacket and said, "Do yourself a favor and burn the letter."

Immediately, Isaac threw the envelope to the ground and walked off, leaving Nina on her own.

(***)

"You're here!" Amber exclaimed when Nina returned to school. "Okay, we only have ten more minutes until lunch ends, so let's discuss the plan."

"I think we should just forget about it," Nina replied.

"What!" Amber's eyes widened at her best friend and she looked over at Fabian. "What did you say to her?"

Fabian shrugged. "It wasn't me that talked her out of it."

"I talked to Isaac," Nina revealed.

"What!" Amber's voice grew in volume once more and Nina motioned for her to quiet down. "I thought we agreed we were going to do that together."

"I know," Nina sighed, "but he was at the police station, so I took a chance."

"What happened?" Fabian asked.

Nina shook her head. "He doesn't want to help us. He made that quite clear to me, but he does know something. He reacted to that note too quickly to not know something."

"What about the other one? Danielle?" Amber asked.

Nina shrugged and passed Amber the note. "We can try."

"Okay, well she's sitting over there," Fabian informed them before pointing to the girl a few feet away from them.

"How are we going to do this?" Amber asked.

Nina shrugged and took the note from Amber's hand. "We just have to be direct."

Fabian and Amber nodded in agreement and the trio walked up to where Danielle sat at a table by herself, reading a book.

"Excuse me?" Nina offered the blonde a smile and Danielle stared up at the group.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"You're Danielle, right?" Amber questioned.

"According to my birth certificate," she replied.

Fabian laughed at the joke and Amber shot the boy a look.

"Umm, you went on the Peru trip with us a few weeks ago," Nina told her.

"Okay," Danielle nodded and closed her book, "can you maybe speed this up a bit because I'm supposed to be somewhere right about now?"

"We received this letter in the mail and we wanted to know if you knew anything about it," Nina explained to her before handing her the envelope.

Danielle took a moment to read it before she muttered a curse under her breath and handed them back the letter. "You might want to talk to Isaac. He may know a bit more than I do."

"I knew it!" Nina exclaimed. "He had to be hiding something, but he didn't trust me."

Danielle narrowed her eyes at the girl and added, "After the incident in the cave I saw Isaac put something in his pocket. He probably knows something about it. If he doesn't, you can't blame him. That note is pretty cryptic."

"Thanks for the help," Nina replied and the group started to retreat.

"Wait!" Danielle called.

Nina glanced back at the girl to see her packing up her belongings and running up to them. "I'm going with you."

"Sorry, but this is a Sibuna thing," Amber pointed out.

Danielle shook her head and hung her messenger bag on her shoulder. "I don't know what that is, but I do know that Isaac won't talk to you guys. Like you stated before, he doesn't trust you. You need me."

The trio exchanged looks before ultimately nodding and saying, "C'mon."

Danielle nodded and they all exited the courtyard.

(***)

The second Isaac returned to the school he headed straight for Isis house. He rushed up the stairs to his room and immediately locked the door behind him.

"Where is it?" he muttered to himself as he began to rummage through random drawers.

After what seemed like an hour, Isaac spotted the brown parcel out of the corner of his eye. It sat on one of his shelves buried behind an array of miscellaneous items. He walked over to the package and carefully took it off the shelf before unwrapping it and dumping its components into his hand.

The bright red ruby shimmered and glowed in the light coming from the window. It almost made Isaac want to abandon his next planned action, but he knew that if he didn't go through with it those Anubis 'losers' were going to find him.

"Okay, time to get this over with," he stated before setting the ruby down on his desk. He grabbed his heaviest textbook and in one fluid motion slammed it down the jewel. Upon impact the ruby broke into 12 pieces and scattered all around his desk.

Isaac sighed and he tossed his textbook aside before moving to collect the fragments. Just as he picked up one of them, his bedroom door burst open and Danielle rushed in.

Her eyes widened at the sight before her and she gulped. "What did you do?"

"Danielle, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"I came to stop you from doing anything rash… apparently I'm too late," she replied.

Isaac shook his head and he put the fragment he had in his hand in his pocket before sliding the rest into a burlap pouch. "You talked to those freaks, didn't you?"

Danielle laughed and took the pouch from his hand. "I did and now we have to go to Anubis house."

"I've heard stories of that place. Are you sure you want us associating with those people?" He asked.

Danielle hesitated for a moment before shaking her head and gesturing for him to follow her. "Let's go."

(***)

All of Anubis house plus Danielle and Isaac stood crowded around the dining table, the fragments in the center of the room.

"You are ridiculous. I know you love your mysteries, but this is a bit much," Jerome replied as he looked over at Nina, Fabian, and Amber.

"I have a feeling, okay?" Nina explained. "Everyone take one of the fragments."

All of the students reached for a piece except for Isaac who already grasped one in his hand.

"Okay, now what?" Mara asked.

Amber shrugged and looked down at her fragment. "That's all we had."

Jerome rolled his eyes and glared at the trio. "I told you this was all a bunch of-,"

"I have another letter for you," Victor exclaimed as he walked into the room. He set down an envelope on the table and looked at the teens. "I suggest you start replying. I'm sick of all these appearing."

The moment Victor left the room Nina reached for the letter, which was bulkier than last time, and looked at the envelope. "There's no return address."

"Who cares?" Isaac exclaimed, "Just open it."

Nina sighed and she broke the seal of the envelope before pulling out the letter. "It reads:

 _Do not break the last jewel.  
I know that my instruction may come late, but please do not break it.  
If I have in fact sent this after you have broken the jewel, do not touch its fragments.  
If you do, your life will change forever._

 _-S_

 _To reach me, use the component inside._ "

The cold feeling from earlier washed over Nina's body again and she looked up at her house mates.

"Well thanks for that guys," Mick spat out.

"How were we supposed to know?" Fabian asked.

"You could've used common sense!" Mick shouted.

Fabian scoffed and said, "This coming from you! Mick, the biggest-,"

"Will you stop!" Patricia interrupted them.

The boys immediately shut their mouths and Patricia nodded. "Thank you. Now what's in the envelope?"

Nina took out the heavy object and raised an eyebrow. "It's a phone."

"Is there anything on it?" Danielle asked.

Nina shrugged and she unlocked it to find a single contact displayed on the screen. "It's a phone number."

"Well what are you waiting for?" Mara asked. "Call it."

Nina exchanged a nervous look with Amber before dialing the number and pressing the phone to her ear.

It began to ring.

 _ **AN: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. The next one should be coming soon. The mystery is still relatively unknown, but trust me the next chapter is when all the mysterious, dramatic, and supernatural stuff begins to occur, so do not fear. Anyways if you enjoyed this and want me to continue please review, favorite, and subscribe!**_

 _ **-Karina**_


	3. Visions, Abilities, and Gunshot Wounds

Chapter 3: Visions, Abilities, and Gunshot Wounds

Within seconds of the phone ringing, the noise stopped and was replaced with a scratchy automated message. "A message has been forwarded to your phone."

The call went dead after that and Nina pulled the device away from her ear and stared at it.

"What happened?" Amber asked.

"I don't know. It just," Before she could finish, the phone vibrated in her hand and Nina was alerted of a new message.

"It's an address," Nina exclaimed as she looked up.

"An address? Do they want you to go there?" Mara asked.

Nina shrugged before reviewing the message again. "It says, 'Bring the boy.'"

Everyone's eyes shifted to Isaac who had lost interest in the topic a while ago and was now eating a sandwich in the kitchen. He looked up to find everyone staring and coughed a bit. "What?"

"You're going on a field trip," Jerome smirked.

(***)

"This is called kidnapping," Isaac informed Nina.

Nina glanced at him from the driver's seat and replied, "No one forced you to get in the car."

"You told me you needed to drop off a parcel, not that you were going to use me as bait for the stranger that's been leaving us messages," Isaac pointed out.

Nina shrugged. "Technically you are the parcel. We need to figure out what's going on."

"No, _you_ need to figure out what's going on," Isaac informed her. "I couldn't care less."

"Aren't you just the slightest bit curious?" Nina asked.

Isaac shook his head. "No, I'm not. Haven't you heard that saying? 'Curiosity killed the cat?'"

Nina laughed a bit, her grip loosening on the steering wheel. "People always forget that that isn't the full saying. 'Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.'"

Isaac's eyes narrowed at the statement and he leaned forward, looking like he was ready to say something, but at the last minute he closed his mouth and sat back.

Nina raised an eyebrow at this and asked, "why do you do that? It's like every time you're about to say something apologetic you just stop."

Isaac grew stiff at the question, but he didn't let it faze him as he said, "You're not my friend or anything, so can you just drive? I want to get this over with."

Nina nodded, not bothering to argue with the dark haired boy.

(***)

"What are we supposed to do now?" Jerome asked.

Fabian glanced at him from his spot at the dining table and shrugged. "We have to wait."

"Like sitting ducks?" Eddie sighed. "This can't be as bad as it seems."

Amber plunged into the sofa and nodded. "It can be. Worse things have happened here."

"Okay, but are we in quarantine or something?" Patricia asked. "What do these jewels mean anyways?"

Amber opened her mouth to answer, but before she could the jewel in her hand began to glow. "What the,"

Amber jumped up from her seat and tried to set the jewel down, but it appeared to be stuck to her hand. "It won't come off!"

"Calm down," Mick advised as he took a couple steps toward her.

"Calm down?" Amber echoed. "There is a glowing ruby stuck to my hand!"

"Just stay still," Fabian said. "I'm sure there is nothing to worry about."

Amber scoffed and raised her hand up. At the sudden movement a crackling sound was heard and Jerome looked behind him to find the vase and flowers at the center of the table frozen solid.

"Umm, what just happened?" Jerome asked.

Fabian glanced at the vase and then back at Amber before saying, "I think you should put your hand down."

"You don't think that... You don't think I did that, right?" Amber asked.

Fabian gulped and he walked over to the vase. "I think we should all sit down and not make any sudden movements. If I'm right these jewels are doing something to us that should not be humanly possible. I'm going to call Nina."

Amber felt her heart sink and she took a seat back on the sofa. She stared at her hands.

(***)

"What?" Nina asked. "She did what?"

"You really shouldn't be on the phone while you're driving," Isaac informed her.

Nina rolled her eyes at him and switched the phone to her other ear. "We're almost at the location. I'm going to try and figure out what's going on. Okay, I have to go."

Nina hung up her phone and set it on the dashboard.

"What did she do?" Isaac asked.

"What?" Nina glanced at him for a moment.

"Amber? You said she did something," Isaac reminded her.

"Oh, um it's nothing," Nina insisted. "Anyways, it looks like we're here."

Nina pulled the car into the parking lot of what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse.

"If we are going to be working together you should learn to trust me," Isaac pointed out.

Nina scoffed and took her keys out of the ignition. "Considering we had our first conversation at the police station you can probably guess why I'm a bit hesitant to trust you."

He frowned at this before looking out the window and examining the area. "You know, I'm pretty sure this isn't the kind of place we should be meeting someone."

Nina ignored the statement and unclipped her seatbelt. "Come on."

Isaac sighed and reluctantly followed her out the car. He opened his mouth to protest once more, but upon his feet crunching against the gravel his whole body went limp and he fell to his knees.

"Isaac?" Nina asked. She watched carefully as he lifted up his head. His eyes were closed yet Nina could see them moving quick behind his eyelids.

"Isaac?" she asked once more.

Suddenly, Isaac's head fell forward and he gasped for air. He raised his hand to his chest and let it settle above his heart as he waited for the beating to settle.

"What just happened?"

Isaac gulped and he shook his head. "I saw something," he mumbled.

His eyes widened as soon as the statement left his lips and he rose to his feet. "Get down!"

"What are you talking about?" Nina questioned.

Isaac groaned and he rushed over to the other side of the car and pushed Nina down, pressing his body against hers.

Several gunshots rang from above and Nina looked up at the teen above her. "How did you know that was going to happen?"

Isaac sighed and he shifted his body so his weight wasn't on her. "I'd like to say it was intuition and a love for mystery novels, but I saw it happen."

"What do you mean you 'saw it happen'?" Nina asked.

Isaac hesitated at this before standing up and offering a hand to Nina. "I saw you get shot."

He pointed his finger between her eyes and frowned. "Right there."

(***)

Nina opened the door to Anubis house in a rush. She headed straight upstairs not bothering to look at her housemates who were all crowded in the living area.

"Nina…" Fabian's voice trailed off as he watched Nina head upstairs. Before he could chase after her Isaac blocked his path and gestured to the sofa.

"What happened?" Fabian asked.

Isaac's jaw tightened at this and he handed him the burner phone. "Like I said, it was trap."

"There was no one there?" Mara asked.

Isaac shook his head and took a seat on the sofa. "No, there was someone there alright. Nina's just a bit shaken."

Jerome narrowed his eyes at this and stepped forward. "Why?"

"Because we were shot at," Isaac answered.

"What?" Fabian gasped.

"We were shot at, but it's okay because I knew it was going to happen. Amber's not the only one with weird abilities it turns out. I saw it happen. I saw Nina get shot and I was able to save her because of that, but who knows what would've happened if I didn't get that-that vision of sorts," Isaac informed them.

"So you have visions?" Jerome shook his head and ran a hand through his hair.

"Actually it was a precognition," Nina corrected from the top of the stairs. "And I think I know what's happening to us."

Nina walked down the steps with a big leather bound book in her hand. She placed it down on the coffee table and took a step back. "I think we've been cursed."

(***)

"So we all have abilities?" Amber asked.

Nina nodded and closed the book she had placed on the dining table. "I don't know when they'll all be revealed. I think an action triggers it. For Amber it was directing herself towards an object and for Isaac it was a dangerous situation."

"We just have to wait and see is what you're saying?" Mick questioned.

"Yes. I think until we each know what we are capable of doing we need to lay low for a bit," she advised.

"Speak for yourself. Some of us have lives," Patricia snapped.

Nina rolled her eyes and stood up. "I think we're in danger."

"What else is new?" Joy scoffed. "We've heard it all before. I refuse to stop living my life."

A majority of the group nodded and Nina frowned as she watched them all disperse. Soon it was just Nina, Amber, and Fabian standing alone.

"I guess it's up to us," Amber shrugged.

Nina sighed and slowly began making her way to her room. "Yeah… always up to us to save the world."

(***)

Isaac sat in the bleachers observing the nearest football practice. He watched the players move out of order and he attempted to focus his mind on an image, or an outcome of sorts. He sighed and leaned back in his seat, choosing to give up on the task.

"Fan of football?" Mick asked.

Isaac's head shot up at the voice. Upon seeing Mick, the teen settled down again and shook his head. "Not really."

"Play any sports?" Mick questioned.

Isaac nodded and gestured for Mick to take a seat. "I'm captain of the track team."

"A runner? Nice," Mick complimented. "So what are you doing here then?"

"I guess I was just trying to make sense of everything," Isaac shrugged. "But it doesn't matter. My mind is consumed with fog."

"Well I don't know about you, but my mind tends to focus whenever I play football. I just let everything go. Maybe you should go for a run," Mick offered.

Isaac thought for a moment before nodding and standing up. "I think I will. Umm, thanks… Mick? It's Mick right?"

He laughed and nodded. "Yeah, it's Mick. And you're Isaac."

"Right, well I'll see you around," Isaac gave him a small smile and stepped down from the bleachers. Before walking away, Isaac turned back to Mick and quickly shed his leather jacket. "Do you mind holding this for me?"

Mick shook his head and took the jacket. "Not at all."

"Thanks," And then he was off, Isaac fading into the distance and becoming a small insignificant dot to Mick.

(***)

Isaac had run all through the campus before coming upon his favorite corner. He stopped to catch his breath when he heard the crunching of gravel behind him.

"For god's sake," Isaac turned to find Nina standing by the fountain. "Can't a guy have a moment alone around here?"

"Sorry," Nina shrugged. "Danielle told me this is where you go when you want to think. I was waiting here for half an hour."

"Guess I have to find a new spot," Isaac scoffed. He lifted up his shirt and wiped the sweat that covered his forehead before gesturing for Nina to take a seat.

"What do you want?"

Nina shrugged before pulling out the segment of the jewel Isaac had broken. "I had a question about this."

"What makes you think I'll know?" He asked.

"You had the jewel for a week before we got that letter. You had to have been curious," she replied.

Isaac sighed and he ran a hand through his curly hair. "I didn't find much. Incan legend is just that; a legend."

"There wasn't anything interesting?" Nina inquired further.

"Alright, but if I tell you this you have to keep it between us," Isaac declared.

"I can't promise that. I'd be lying," she told him.

Isaac laughed a bit before taking the jewel from her hand. "At least you're honest. The jewel, and actually that entire pouch we found, wasn't from Peru. I brought it over to the museum to see what they would say and apparently it's an old Egyptian artifact. It was believed to be from-,"

Before Isaac could finish his sentence, a loud bang rang from the distance and Nina was knocked from her spot on the edge of the fountain. Isaac's eyes grew wide and he knelt beside Nina.

"Are you okay?" Isaac asked.

"I was just shot!" Nina shouted. "What do you think?"

Isaac glanced down at her left leg to find a nasty gash on her calf. "It grazed you. The bullet didn't penetrate."

"Do you think it was the same person?" Nina asked.

"I don't want to stick around to find out," Isaac replied. "Let's go."

"I can't exactly walk," Nina pointed out.

"Oh," Isaac put Nina's right arm over his shoulders and he picked her up. "Now let's go."

(***)

The moment Isaac and Nina arrived at Anubis house, everyone crowded around them. Isaac placed Nina down on the sofa and stepped away, allowing her housemates to flock around her.

"A bit of space please?" Nina cried.

Everyone took a step back at the demand.

"What happened?" Fabian asked.

"I guess they found us. They took a shot at Nina and grazed her. She's bleeding but she should be fine," Isaac informed them.

"She's not bleeding," Jerome pointed out.

"What?" Nina looked down at her left leg to find it fully healed. "How did that-,"

"Your power," Isaac interrupted. "It must be."

"I healed?" Nina asked. "Can you get me a knife?"

Fabian's eyes widened at this and he shook his head. "Are you going to test the theory out? What if you can't heal?"

"Then have a bandage ready," Nina replied as she took the knife out of Isaac's hand. She brought it to her hand and winced as she took a quick swipe. Crimson red flooded her hands and Amber handed her a nearby dish towel. Nina wiped at the blood and revealed a nasty gash at her hand.

"See? Now you've cut yourself for-," Fabian began to say, but before he could finish the gash slowly began to close until it was completely gone.

"Well alright," Nina sighed. "I guess that settles it."

"So Amber can freeze things, Isaac can see the future, and Nina can heal herself… I wonder what I can do," Jerome smirked.

"Maybe we should all stay put until we know what we can do," Mara suggested. "I mean, apparently we're being hunted."

"That's not a bad idea. All in favor of staying here?" Amber asked.

Everyone raised their hands and Amber nodded.

"So it's settled then, we stay here."

(***)

By the end of the day, the teens sat divided across the room refusing to look at each other and themselves. No one else had discovered an ability while seated together in the small space. Only thoughts and fears of what was to come were shared forcing the reality of the situation to sink into each of them.

"So…" Jerome sighed and shifted in his seat. "What now? I mean, we can't possibly just sit here waiting for something we aren't even sure of."

"What if we're stuck like this?" Eddie frowned and looked down at his hands. "What if people find out and we're marked as freaks for the rest of our lives?"

"Guys we can't let this get us down," Nina told them. "We can fix this; I'm sure of it. We just need to find a way."

"You do that then," Isaac replied.

"Where are you going?" Nina asked.

Isaac shrugged and headed to the door. "I'm going home. I need my sleep. Some of us have things to do tomorrow."

Danielle nodded in agreement and she followed the boy out.

"Isaac's right," Mick declared as he stood up. "We're stuck like this, so we might as well just learn how to deal with it. We have class tomorrow. Let's just sleep."

Soon everyone had gotten up and left, leaving Nina, Fabian, and Amber alone.

"What are we going to do?" Amber asked.

Nina sighed and she stared at the fractured jewel she held in her hand. "I don't know."

"Let's make a plan then," Fabian tossed his piece into the center of the dining table and pulled out a chair.

Amber and Nina followed suit, tossing their own jewels into the center and attempting to make sense of the mess that had consumed their lives.

 _ **AN: Thanks for reading. I'll post a new chapter soon. If you liked please favorite, subscribe, and leave a review.**_

 _ **-Karina**_


	4. Truths, Track, and Not Looking Back

Chapter 4: Truths, Track, and Not Looking Back

"And… Go!"

Mick took off running down the circular track that surrounded the football field, not bothering to look back as he passed the people that had originally flanked his sides. He grinned and allowed himself to slow down a bit, adjusting to a comfortable pace. However, it was only a moment before a gust of wind hit him and Mick watched as someone zoomed past him and down the track. Mick frowned at the runner and he sped up, trying desperately to catch up.

He groaned as he felt his lungs tighten and his limbs burn with the increased activity.

It was another minute before he finally crossed the finished line and he collapsed at the feet of the person that had passed him.

"Are you a mutant or something?" Mick managed to ask between heavy breaths. He looked up to find a smirking Isaac who offered a hand to Mick.

"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm human and you're just slow," he teased.

Mick sighed and he quickly wiped the sweat that covered his forehead with the bottom of his shirt. "I came in second, you know."

"Yes and after giving you a head start I still passed the finish line a minute before you," Isaac reminded him.

Mick laughed and nodded. "I'll give you that."

Isaac grinned and the two boys began to head to the locker room.

"How've you been?" Mick asked once they were down there. "None of us have seen you since you walked off two weeks ago."

Isaac paused for a moment before proceeding to change into his school uniform. "Umm, I've been around."

"Danielle stops by every now and then, so…" Mick trailed off and he watched as Isaac stiffened at the statement.

"I don't really have time. I mean, what's the point anyways? I haven't had any visions and I don't want any," Isaac replied.

Mick frowned and found his eyes drifting to the floor. "Have you talked to Nina or Amber? You could really help us figure out what's going on."

Isaac shook his head and closed his locker. "It's been two weeks and you're the first one I've talked to since then. I don't want to get involved in whatever it is you guys are planning."

"But we all have to discuss it at some point, don't we? I mean, aren't you curious?" Mick questioned.

Isaac shrugged and he grabbed his bag from the floor. "I don't know, mate. I guess getting strange powers from an Egyptian jewel isn't something I want to discuss."

The corners of Mick's lips twitched slightly and he returned his eyes to his locker.

"Look, you're a pretty cool guy and you seem to be the most normal of the bunch, so I'll give it to you straight. I don't want powers. I don't want mystery. My life is fine as it is."

Mick nodded and he forced a smile as he returned his eyes to Isaac. "No, I agree. It's best to just forget about it."

"Alright," Isaac returned the smile and patted Mick's shoulder before heading to the door. "I'll see you around Mick."

Mick watched as Isaac left the room. He sighed and closed his locker upon Isaac leaving before collecting his own things and heading to Anubis house.

(***)

"Alright," Amber clasped her hands together before looking over at her housemates. "I'm glad you all decided to make this house meeting."

She picked up a marker that rested on the coffee table and turned to the white erase board she had set up in front of the TV. "We discovered two weeks ago that Nina could heal, Isaac could see the future, and that I can freeze things. Anyone else have something to add to the list?"

The teens looked around, waiting for someone to speak up, before Eddie cautiously raised his hand.

"I set my bed on fire," he confessed.

"Umm," Amber didn't exactly know what to say, so she turned her back to him and added his power to the board. "Fire manipulation. Okay, anyone else?"

Jerome stood up suddenly and all eyes fell on him. "I think I have something, but I'm not sure."

"What happened?" Mara asked.

He cleared his throat and laced his fingers together. "It's not exactly like Isaac where he can see the future, but I can see two or three seconds before something happens and react quicker. It's like the world slows down for a moment, giving me an upper hand. I don't know. It could be nothing, but it feels like something."

"It's not nothing," Fabian confirmed. "Superhuman reflexes. That's what it's called. You react faster than the average human in certain situations because at times the world moves slower to you."

Jerome nodded and let out a deep breath. "Okay, I'm glad I got that off my chest."

After Jerome, it seemed that more people were comfortable sharing what had happened the past week and what abilities they appeared to have.

Patricia revealed that she accidentally sent a textbook flying at a teacher during class leading Fabian to conclude that she had telekinesis.

Mara spoke next and told the group that she was the reason the power had gone out a couple days earlier in the house after sparks from her hands hit one of the outlets in the bathroom. Turned out she had developed electric manipulation.

No one else could recall seeing any signs of abilities.

"Okay, so that leaves Alfie, Joy, Fabian, and Mick," Amber concluded once she finished writing down the new powers.

"Oh, and Danielle," Nina added. "We're going to talk to her later to see if anything has happened."

"So is that it?" Jerome asked. "We go back to waiting now?"

"What else is there to do?" Fabian shrugged.

"Are you sure that phone number doesn't work?" Eddie questioned.

Nina nodded. "The number has been disconnected."

He sighed and the teens sat in silence once more, the too familiar feeling of defeat filling them once again.

"What if," Alfie began, sending all eyes to him. "What if people have more than one ability?"

"We have enough on our plates dealing with one, okay?" Patricia pointed out. "We don't need to start worrying about another."

Alfie frowned, but he didn't object as he slumped back into his seat.

At that moment, the door to Anubis house opened and in came Mick, sweaty and tired from football practice.

"Where have you been?" Amber asked.

"Practice," Mick replied as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Why?"

"We had a house meeting about our powers. Discover anything yet?" Nina asked.

Mick shook his head as he took a sip from his water bottle. "Nope. As far as I can tell, I'm still the same old Mick Campbell."

Amber sighed and looked over at her housemates. "Meeting adjourned."

Everyone began to leave the room until it was only Amber, Nina, Fabian, and Mick left.

"I talked to Isaac," he revealed after taking a seat on the sofa.

"What did he say?" Nina asked.

Mick shrugged. "What do you think? He wants nothing to do with this."

Nina groaned and threw one of the markers across the room. "He was the one that started this!"

"Breathe, Nina," Amber told her best friend. "Just calm down."

"I'm fine," she insisted as she stepped away from her. "I'm just frustrated is all."

"The situation will get better, okay?" Fabian tried to assure her.

Nina shook her head. "You can't promise that. Danielle has tried everything and he just won't listen to reason. She's done trying to convince him. I just, I wish he would at least hear us out."

"Well," Amber spoke up and they all turned to her. "Maybe he won't hear us out, but he does seem to be talking to Mick. What if Mick tried out for the track team? He could get closer to Isaac and befriend him. Maybe he can even convince him to come here and help us figure this all out."

"But is there even a _this_ to figure out? We have powers. Why does there have to be a mystery attached to that?" Mick wondered.

"Because it's not every day that Nina is shot at and we receive unsigned letters in the mail," Fabian pointed out.

Mick sighed before nodding. "You're right. I'll talk to Isaac. I'll do what I can."

"While you do that we'll see if we can find out where the letter was sent from," Nina told him. "We're going to figure this out guys. I won't let any of us get hurt."

The group nodded before leaving the room and going off to perform their assigned tasks.

(***)

Mick spotted Isaac by the track an hour after he left Anubis house. He let out a deep breath and bent down to tie his laces before jogging over to Isaac.

"Hey," he greeted.

Isaac turned to him, clipboard in hand, and smiled. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

"I'm trying out for the team," Mick answered.

Isaac tried to contain a snort as he picked up one of the numbers from the bench and handed it to him. "Okay."

"What? You don't think I can do it?" Mick asked.

Isaac shrugged. "Maybe, but after what I saw earlier I have my doubts."

"I was only a minute behind," he countered.

"Doesn't matter," Isaac told him. "I gave you a head start and you still didn't beat me. When it comes to track, a second, let alone a minute, is everything."

Mick frowned at his words and Isaac cleared his throat. "But who knows? Maybe you'll surprise me."

Mick perked up at the statement before placing the number on his chest and getting in line with the rest of the people trying out.

(***)

"Anything?" Amber asked.

Fabian shook his head as he threw the book he had had in his hands across the room. "Nothing. Nina?"

Nina sighed and closed her laptop. "I'm drawing blanks here guys. I just, I don't know how we can do this."

"Maybe an extra set of hands could help,"

The three turned to the door to find Danielle leaning against it.

"We'll take all the help we can get," Nina nodded.

Danielle smiled, exposing her dimples in the process, before stepping into the messy room and getting to work.

(***)

"Alright, everyone great job today. The roster will be posted tomorrow outside the gym. You can check then to see if you made the team. You're free to go," Isaac smiled at the people around him before turning away and walking to the bench.

"How'd I do?" Mick asked.

Isaac laughed and turned to face the boy. "I was surprised. You didn't suck."

"Well I do have to run for football," Mick pointed out.

Isaac nodded. "True, but you'll find out tomorrow if you made the team."

"Not even a hint?" Mick asked.

Isaac shook his head. "Sorry,"

"Alright," Mick shrugged. "I'm a patient guy."

"Is that why you're hovering?" Isaac countered.

Mick's smile dropped and he took a small step back. "No, I just think it's weird."

"What is?"

"You're so different from when I met you in Peru," he told him.

Isaac stiffened at the observation before setting down the clipboard that was in his hand. "Yeah, to be honest that day is a blur. I don't remember meeting you. I don't remember acting isolated or unresponsive. All I remember is this need to find that cave and those jewels. It was like I was consumed by this desire. I don't know. I'm probably making no sense."

"No," Mick shook his head. "It makes sense. I mean, you knew exactly how to find those jewels. Maybe there's a reason."

"I was sort of lying earlier. I _am_ curious," Isaac revealed. "I want to know more, but I'm scared of what will happen. I mean, we're already stuck like this. What if things get worse?"

"That's why we have to figure this out. We have to become aware of the situation to fix everything," Mick replied.

Isaac nodded and picked up his gym bag. "Okay, I understand. I'll help however you guys want as long as I'm not put in danger."

Mick grinned and began to lead Isaac to Anubis house. "You won't regret this."

Isaac sighed. "Let's hope."

(***)

Upon entering Anubis house, Isaac and Mick were met by the defeated looking Nina, Fabian, Amber, and Danielle.

"Isaac!" Danielle shot up from her seat upon seeing her friend. "You came."

Isaac nodded and stepped into the living area. "I have some questions I want to answer too, so I figured I'd stop by."

Nina smiled at the teen before sending a silent thank you to Mick. He returned the gesture to her before focusing on the whole group.

"Any progress?" he asked.

Amber shook her head and closed the book in her hand. "None whatsoever."

"All we have is this stupid letter," Fabian sighed as he held up the envelope.

"Umm," Isaac set his gym bag down. "I may be able to help."

"How?" Nina questioned.

"Turns out that along with precognition, I have retrocognition," he revealed. "I discovered it the other day during practice."

"What's retrocognition?" Amber asked.

"It's the opposite of precognition," Mick spoke up. "It means he can see events of the past."

"How did you know that?" Fabian wondered.

Mick shrugged and frowned. "I, I don't know. I just do."

Fabian's brow furrowed at his response, but he refused to pry as he approached Isaac. "How does it work?"

"I don't know," the boy admitted. "Last time, it just came to me randomly. An image from the year 1986 of our school at the track finals appeared in my head during practice."

"Could touching the envelope maybe cause that?" Nina guessed.

Isaac shrugged. "We could try."

Fabian handed Isaac the envelope and the teen held it tightly in his hands and stared at it.

After a couple minutes of nothing, Amber sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "This is pointless. Nothing is going to-,"

At that moment, Isaac suddenly took a large intake of breath and fell to his knees. His head hung back and his eyes moved rapidly behind his eyelids for a few seconds before he fell forward and gasped for air.

"What happened?" Mick asked.

Isaac could barely speak so he made a motion with his hands and Mick immediately picked up the notepad and pen on the table before handing it to him. As soon as the objects were in his hands, Isaac began to run the pen across the page quickly, completely consumed by the task. After a couple minutes, he suddenly stopped and tried to steady his breathing.

"Are you okay?" Nina asked as she knelt beside him.

Isaac nodded and ran a hand through his hair. "I saw this burst of color. I don't know. I tried my best."

He handed Nina the notepad and she gasped. "It's a fireplace. There's a piece of paper burning in it. I think it's an address. Wow, everything is so detailed. Can you draw?"

"Stick figures," Isaac replied.

"Well then you ought to look at this," Amber scoffed as she pointed to his sketch.

Isaac did as told and he was surprised to see a detailed picture of a fireplace with flames consuming a crumpled note. "Wow. I can't believe I did that."

"Okay, so what now? We aren't going to go there, are we?" Fabian asked.

Nina let out a deep breath. "We have to. This is all we have to go on."

"And what if someone ends up getting shot again?" he pointed out.

"Nina can heal and Isaac can see the future. They're probably the best option," Mick informed him.

"Someone else should go just in case," Fabian replied.

"Not you if that's what you're suggesting," Amber told him. "We don't know your power. It could be completely useless."

"Then who?" he asked.

"What about me?" Amber suggested. "I have an offensive power."

"No," Nina shook her head. "We can't risk being seen using powers. We need someone who can help us keep things quick and straight."

Danielle raised a hand at that. "What about Jerome? He has superhuman reflexes."

"That's a good point," Mick nodded.

"Okay," Nina agreed. "Jerome it is. We'll go to the address and see if we can find a clue of sorts."

"What if someone's there?" Amber asked.

Nina shrugged. "We'll be fine, okay? If anything, we'll turn back right away."

"Be careful," Danielle told Isaac as he began to head to the door.

The teen nodded. "Don't worry. We'll be back."

(***)

"Are you getting any bad vibes?" Jerome asked from the passenger seat.

Isaac shook his head. "That's not how it works."

"Oh," he shrugged. "I thought it was like some sort of danger sense."

"Nope. It's more of just knowing the past and the future with something as simple as touch," Isaac corrected.

Jerome nodded and glanced out the window. "I think this is it. Maybe we should pull over here, Nina. We shouldn't get too close."

"Alright," she agreed and quickly parked the car at the corner of the street in front of a chain linked fence.

"Once again, we've driven to a sketchy place," Isaac frowned as he scanned the area.

"Yeah, even I don't need powers to know we shouldn't be here," Jerome pointed out. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Nina let out a deep breath and glanced at the structure in front of them. "We need answers. I need answers."

"Then let's go,"

The three teens searched the perimeter until they found an opening in the fence. They slipped through and began walking towards what looked like an abandoned parking garage.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Jerome asked.

Nina nodded. "I'm positive."

"But it's deserted," Isaac observed. "What are we going to find here?"

Nina took one more look around the property until her eyes landed on a small wooden house just behind the parking structure.

"What do you think is in there?" she asked.

"Only one way to find out," Jerome shrugged.

Isaac frowned and shook his head. "I don't like this, guys."

"We have to keep moving, Isaac," Nina told him, ignoring his concern.

He sighed and followed the two Anubis residents to the small house. Upon reaching the home, it was clear that no one had lived there in quite a while. They pushed open the rotting wood door and stepped through the entrance.

"There's nothing here," Jerome stated as he looked at the cobweb covered walls and floors.

"Actually," Isaac bent down and removed a layer of dust from the floor revealing a latch. "It looks like an entrance to a cellar."

"Should we head down there?" Jerome wondered.

"We didn't come this far for nothing," Nina nodded and watched as Isaac lifted the hidden panel and revealed a glass staircase.

"It looks new," he told them as he descended into the room.

The cellar was unlike the rest of the house. A large white desk sat at the corner of the room with letters and paper strewn across its surface. A tall wooden bookcase stood beside it, completely filled with an assortment of literature. Across from it were two white arm chairs and a marble coffee table. On the coffee table rested a partially closed laptop and a cassette player.

Isaac hesitated for a moment before stepping onto the hardwood floors and walking over to the desk.

"Seems kind of odd to have an office with no windows," Jerome commented as he stared at the white walls.

"I think they were going for security," Isaac replied as he rummaged through the papers. "All the names have been scratched off the letters."

"What do they say?" Nina asked.

"Umm," Isaac let his eyes run across a couple of the letters before looking back up at Nina. "It's not in English. I think it's been encrypted."

He handed the stack of letters to Nina and she shook her head upon observing them. "We should take these with us."

"Won't someone notice they're gone?" he questioned.

Nina shrugged and walked over to the laptop. "It's worth the risk."

"What do you think this is for?" Isaac asked as he picked up the cassette player. "There's something in here."

"I don't know, but we should prob-," Before Nina could finish her thought, the sound of a car driving on gravel filled the room.

"We have to go now," Jerome stated as he ran up the stairs.

Nina and Isaac followed the blond out and the three quickly left the small house.

"How are we going to get back to the car?" Isaac asked.

"I don't think we can," she answered, her eyes having landed on the grey car that had pulled up beside theirs.

Jerome pointed at the vehicle as one of the doors opened. "Someone's getting out of the car,"

"Come on," Isaac rushed to the parking structure and Nina and Jerome chased after him. They raced up the stairs until they were on the third level.

"Why did we come up here?" Jerome asked.

"We have a better view," Isaac replied as he watched a man in a black suit walk to the house they were just in.

"He looks familiar," Nina furrowed her brow and leaned over the railing.

"That's because he teaches at our school," Isaac informed her. "That's Mr. Yamata. He's one of the new history teachers."

"What is he doing here?" Jerome asked.

Isaac sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know, but I think we should get out of here now."

Nina nodded in agreement and they began to head to the staircase before a loud bang rang in the air.

"Isaac!"

Isaac suddenly fell to the ground, his arm clutching his side. Nina dropped to her knees and she pushed Isaac's arm aside as she looked to see if he had been hurt.

"What happened?" Jerome asked, his eyes wide and wild. "What was that?"

Nina gulped, her eyes not leaving Isaac as she said, "he was shot."

 _ **AN: Sorry for the long wait. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I will be posting the next one soon so stay tuned. If you liked, please favorite, subscribe, and leave a review.**_

 _ **-Karina**_


	5. Blood, Talks, and Ticking Clocks

Chapter 5: Blood, Talks, and Ticking Clocks

"Are you okay?" Jerome asked.

"What do you think?" Isaac shouted.

Nina let out a deep breath and forced herself to look away from the gunshot wound. "Can you walk?"

Isaac groaned and tried to sit up, but his body kept falling back. "Does that answer your question?"

"You're losing blood," Jerome gulped and stared at the pool of blood that had started to form.

Isaac forced his eyes shut and he shook his head. "I knew I shouldn't have come back to Anubis house. All you ever bring is trouble and now I'm going to die because of it."

"You're not going to die," Nina assured him. "I won't let you."

"We're being hunted!" he exclaimed. "You really think we have a shot against man made weapons?"

Nina didn't answer him as she stood up and looked at Jerome. "Grab one arm. I'll take the other. We have to find somewhere to hide out."

"There's nothing here," Jerome pointed out as he forced Isaac up.

The teen groaned and looked down at his wound. "What's your plan?"

"Parking structures tend to have security booths," she shrugged.

"That's genius," Jerome grinned. "What floor is it on?"

"Probably the bottom," she answered. "We're going to have to go back down. I'm sorry, Isaac. This might hurt."

"I can take it," he nodded. "We have to get out of here."

Nina placed his other arm over her shoulder and the three began to head down the stairs carefully. Isaac winced at every move and he had to bite his tongue to keep from crying out. It took a couple of minutes, but they finally made it to the bottom of the structure and spotted the security booth by the stairs.

Nina opened up the small room to find a large desk and a bunch of screens connected to the cameras around the property. All the screens were black and Nina sighed as she walked further into the space and kicked the door closed.

"No one has been in here for a while," Jerome observed as he blew at the cob webs covering the table.

"Are you fine on the floor?" Nina asked Isaac.

He nodded and allowed himself to be lowered down on the dirty floor. Nina frowned and she sat beside him before placing his head in her lap.

"I'm sorry. I should have listened to you before," she apologized.

"No worries," he replied before coughing. "I've lived a full life."

Nina shook her head and gestured to Jerome. "Give me your blazer."

Jerome nodded and quickly shed the article of clothing before handing it to Nina. She held the fabric between her two hands before ripping the blazer so that the lining and the outside were separated. She took the lining and quickly wrapped it around Isaac, making sure to tie it around his wound. He groaned and coughed a bit more at the action.

"I'm sorry, but we have to put pressure on the wound," she told him.

"It's fine," he offered her a weak smile and stared up at the ceiling.

Nina sighed and she took the remaining part of Jerome's blazer and ripped it once again before taking one of the pieces and pressing it to the bleeding area.

Isaac winced, but he refused to complain as pain washed over him. "Any of you have a cell phone because that would really be great?"

"No service," Jerome told him as he handed Isaac his phone.

"So we're just sitting ducks then?" Isaac laughed a bit before he began coughing.

"We'll be fine," Nina told the boys. "They know where we are and they know that if we don't return by curfew that something is wrong. They'll find us."

Jerome ran a shaky hand through his hair and wrapped his arms around his knees. "Let's hope,"

(***)

Back at Anubis house, Fabian paced the living area back and forth. "Why haven't we heard from them yet?"

"Maybe there's no service in sketchy remote locations," Mick pointed out.

Fabian rolled his eyes at Mick's reply and glanced down at the letter. "There has to be a way to get in contact with them."

His eyes suddenly fell on the extra set of keys on the kitchen counter.

"Victor will notice if you take his car," Danielle told Fabian.

"What?" His eyes snapped to the blonde who sat across the room reading a book.

"I said that he'd notice if you took the car," she told him.

"Why?" Fabian asked.

Danielle lowered her book. "Because you said, 'I wonder if Victor would notice if I took his car.'"

"I didn't say it," Fabian denied. "I _thought_ it."

"Oh," she frowned and shook her head. "Must be a coincidence."

"Or you're telepathic," Mick replied.

"Reading minds?" Danielle laughed at the thought. "That seems unlikely."

"Considering Amber can freeze things, Nina heals, and Eddie sets things on fire, reading minds seems pretty sane," Fabian told her.

She shrugged. "I don't know. I guess it could be."

"One more power down then," Amber grinned and ran up to the board. "Danielle, telepathy."

"Fine," Danielle settled back into her seat and glanced out the window, taking notice of the darkness that now consumed the sky. "It's already seven. Maybe we should go look for them."

"For all we know we could be walking right into a trap," Mick pointed out.

"But they could be in danger," Amber countered.

Mick sighed and stood up from his seat, not liking the idea of his friends risking their lives. "Fine."

The four began walking to the door, but before they could leave a loud voice was heard from above.

"And where do you four think you're going?" Victor asked.

"Out," Amber replied.

"Supper is about to start," he told them. "Go wash up."

"I don't live here, so I'm just going to go," Danielle stated before looking at Fabian, Amber, and Mick. "I'll see if I can find them,"

"Text us if anything happens," Fabian demanded.

She nodded and quickly exited the house.

(***)

It was 10:00 and the three were still in the security booth. Nina looked over at Jerome who had fallen asleep before returning her eyes to Isaac. She carefully brushed his hair off his forehead as she too began to feel the effects of the long day.

"You can sleep if you want," Isaac replied, his voice hoarse and quiet.

"I'm good right here," she protested.

He coughed and lightly shook his head. "I'm sorry about how I treated you before all this."

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"At the police station and in the car the first time," he answered. "I was a jerk."

"It doesn't matter," Nina assured him. "Don't think about that now."

"I just, I don't want to die with any regrets," he told her. "So I'm sorry."

She nodded and wiped the beads of sweat that were forming on his forehead. "You're burning up."

Isaac gulped and stared up at her. "My throat is sore."

Nina began rummaging through her purse before she sighed and returned her eyes to him. "I don't have anything to help."

"That's okay," he responded. "It's just a sore throat. I'll live."

Nina laughed at his response and Isaac frowned at the girl. "Nina?"

"What?" she asked, her laughter slipping away.

"You're crying," he informed her.

Nina cautiously reached up to her face and she felt something wet on her cheeks. "I didn't realize."

"The past few days have been a lot," he acknowledged.

"Yeah," she agreed. "But to be completely honest, I've been through worse."

"Right," he chuckled. "Weird stuff happens at Anubis house all the time."

Nina smiled and leaned her head back against the wall. "You don't know the half of it."

"I guess you're right about that," he returned her smile and closed his eyes.

"Hey!" she smacked his arm and Isaac groaned.

"What'd you do that for?" he asked.

"Eyes open," Nina demanded. "I can't risk you falling asleep like this."

He rolled his eyes and looked up at her. "Then how do you suggest I stay awake?"

"We talk," she answered.

"About?"

"Why were you at the police station that day?" she asked.

"Wow, straight to the real questions," he laughed.

"You're right," she shook her head. "That was out of line."

"No," he gave her a small smile. "It's fine. I was arrested for trespassing."

"Why were you trespassing?" she asked.

"Honestly?" he sighed and looked over at Jerome before returning his eyes to Nina. "I don't know, but I do it a lot. That and petty theft."

"Wow," Nina was taken aback by his confession, but she refused to let it show as she stared at the blank screens beside them. "I wouldn't have pegged you as that type of guy."

"The tattoo didn't give me away?" he laughed. "Truth is, I'm not that guy, but I do get mixed into bad things sometimes."

"Don't we all?"

"Not like me," he frowned.

Nina opened her mouth to ask another question, but before the words could come out, the door to the security booth opened.

"Isaac!" Danielle gasped and she dropped to her knees upon spotting him. "What happened?"

"He was shot," Nina told her. "Is anyone else out there?"

Danielle shook her head. "No, but we should go now."

Jerome, who had been woken up at the sound of Danielle, looked outside. "Are you sure?"

Danielle nodded. "I saw no one. We have to get Isaac to the hospital."

"No!" he protested.

She scoffed. "You're out of your mind,"

"They'll ask questions!" Isaac exclaimed.

"I don't care," she replied sternly. "We're going there now. Let's help him up,"

The three tried to lift Isaac up, but at this point he had lost too much of his strength to walk.

"I got his legs," Nina declared as she gripped Isaac.

Together, they hurried to the car. Upon reaching the vehicle, they opened the doors and put Isaac in the back.

"I'll meet you at the hospital," Danielle told them as she walked to her car.

Nina nodded and as she walked to the driver's door she felt herself stumble.

"Are you okay?" Jerome asked.

"I don't know," Nina's vision began to blur and she felt her legs give out under her before she crashed to the ground.

(***)

"Where is she?" Fabian asked as soon as he spotted Danielle in the waiting room.

" _She_?" Danielle rolled her eyes. "She is just fine. She fainted due to stress. _Isaac_ was shot."

"Is he okay?" Mick asked.

Danielle sighed and she sank back into her seat. "I don't know."

"Did they call his family?" Amber asked.

"I am his family," Danielle shot back.

"He doesn't have parents?" Mick frowned.

She ran a hand through her hair and shook her head. "His father's in America on business. Isaac hasn't seen him in five years."

"Danielle?"

The teens looked towards the doorway to find Officer Richards.

"Daddy?" Danielle ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him. "Isaac was hurt."

He nodded and wrapped his arms around his daughter before glancing at Amber, Fabian, and Mick. "Who are they?"

"They're friends," she told him. "I called them when I found out what happened."

"And what did happen?" he asked.

At that moment, Jerome came in through the door, Nina by his side.

"Are you okay?" Fabian asked.

Nina nodded. "I'm fine."

"Nina Martin?" Officer Richards looked at the girl who had interviewed him.

"Officer Richards? What are you doing here?" she wondered.

"Danielle is my daughter," he told her. "Were you with Isaac?"

Nina nodded and she glanced down at her blood stained clothes. "Yeah, I was with him."

Officer Richards walked towards her and pulled her into a hug. "Thank you for keeping him alive."

Nina didn't know exactly what to say, so she returned the hug and glanced at her roommates. "No problem."

"I need you to tell me what happened," he demanded.

"I don't know what happened," she replied. "We were just doing some scouting for a location for a school project and he was shot. Jerome and I carried him to safety and we waited for someone to find us. It was around ten when Danielle appeared. She knew where we were and came looking for us after we didn't come back to school in time."

He nodded, accepting her story before glancing at Jerome. "Both of you need to come to the station tomorrow to give an official statement. You should get some rest for now. One of my officers will take you back to school."

Nina nodded. "Thank you."

The Anubis kids all began to exit the waiting room, leaving Danielle and Officer Richards. Nina sighed and she ran a hand through her hair.

"What happened Nina?" Amber asked.

She shook her head and looked down at her bloody hands. "Tomorrow, we'll talk tomorrow."

 _ **AN: Thanks for reading! If you liked please favorite, subscribe, and review! The next chapter will be coming soon**_

 _ **-Karina**_


	6. Hospitals and Stolen Records

Chapter 6: Hospitals, Stolen Records, and Police Reports

Nina didn't get any sleep when she went home that night. She lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling, thoughts of Isaac and her powers swirling around in her head. She had wanted this year to be different and yet there she was with blood on her hands and a mystery surrounding her. She needed to get to the bottom of everything, but first she needed to see Isaac.

The next morning, she walked down the long white halls of the hospital until she spotted the door to Isaac's room wide open. She stepped in and saw Danielle asleep on a chair beside the bed.

"Hey," the teen greeted the girl and gestured for her to take a seat.

She smiled upon seeing him. "How are you doing?"

He shrugged and sat up. "I've had better days."

"I'm sorry," she frowned.

He shook his head. "Don't apologize. You and Jerome are the reason I'm still breathing."

"Do you know when you'll be out of the hospital?" she asked.

"I should be out in a day or two," he answered. "I have to stay tonight since I had surgery yesterday."

"Of course," she offered him another smile and once again looked at Danielle. "I didn't know Officer Richards was Danielle's father."

"Yeah." He nodded as he looked over at his friend. "She doesn't tell people."

"What's your relationship with him?" Nina questioned. "He was so happy that you were okay yesterday."

"Well, Danielle and I have been friends since we were little and when my father moved to the states her family offered to take me in until he returned. I've been with them for about five years," he told her.

"What about your mother?"

"She died when I was young," Isaac revealed.

"I'm sorry,"

"It's fine," he stated yet Nina saw the way the corners of his lips twitched. "I didn't really know her."

"So… does this make us even now?" Nina asked.

Isaac raised an eyebrow. "Even?"

"You know, I saved your life, you saved mine?" she leaned forward, a small smile playing on her lips.

He gave a small laugh and shook his head. "Technically I saved you twice if you count me carrying you to Anubis house after getting shot by the fountain."

"I guess you're right," she grinned. "But don't worry, I'll repay you soon enough."

Isaac's smile grew and a comfortable silence settled between them before Nina suddenly cleared her throat and pushed back her chair.

"Well, I just came to see if you were okay, but I actually have to go to the station and give a statement," she said as she stood up.

"No worries," he assured her. "Maybe while you're there you can check on the man we saw."

Nina furrowed her brow. "Mr. Yamata?"

He hesitated for a moment before picking up a napkin from the nightstand by the bed. "Last night, I got another image."

"Past or future?" she asked.

He shrugged and handed her the napkin that he had drawn on. "I'm not entirely sure. It's a mugshot I think, so if it's from the past he should be in the system."

"How do I find out for sure?" she questioned.

"You're going to the police station, right? You can get on Officer Richards' computer. He never logs off the database," he replied.

Nina laughed a bit and looked down at the napkin. "I don't even want to know how you know that."

Isaac half-smiled at the comment and lowered his head. "Yeah, well, I spend a lot of time there. You know… Just try your best."

Nina nodded and she left the room before heading to her car. Once outside, she got in the vehicle and drove to the station.

(***)

"You want to do what?" Fabian scoffed and shook his head. "Why? I mean, how do you even know that he's in the system? It's too risky."

The determined look on Nina's face faltered slightly and she crossed her arms over her chest. "I wasn't asking for your permission. We need to figure out what's going on. Isaac was shot! This isn't like anything we've ever been through before. This is life or death. Okay? Jerome and I will go into his office and check the database while you distract Officer Richards,"

Fabian sighed before nodding. "Alright, but don't take too long."

Nina squeezed his hand and gave him a small smile. He looked down at her touch.

"I'm really glad you're okay,"

"So am I," she replied.

She slipped her hand away and cast him one last look before walking over to Jerome.

"Let's go,"

Jerome followed Nina to the office in the corner. He looked over his shoulder quickly before stepping into the room.

"So what exactly are we looking for?" he asked.

"Anything on Henry Yamata," she answered. "You check the database and I'll check the files."

Jerome nodded and he headed for Officer Richards' desk. He opened up the database and immediately typed the name in. Once entered, a beep was heard from the computer and an image appeared on the screen.

"Did you get something?" Nina called from the file cabinets.

Jerome hesitated as he read what had appeared on the screen. "No, I think this is just another Henry Yamata."

"Another one?" Nina closed the drawer she had opened and walked over to Jerome. "Let me take a look."

Jerome pushed his chair back and allowed Nina to observe the information on the database.

"Actually," she held up the Isaac's drawing to the actual mugshot, her eyes darting between the two. "That's him. He looks different."

"Did Isaac draw that?" Jerome asked as he leaned forward and got a better look at the mugshot. "Wow. What do you think caused the change in Mr. Yamata?"

"I don't know, but I plan on finding out," she stated before pressing the print button on the page.

Jerome's eyes widened and he turned to her. "What are you doing? You could get caught."

"We need the information. Plus, he's not going to know I printed something," Nina responded.

Jerome frowned, but he didn't say anything as he stood up and walked to the door. "I think we better hurry. It looks like he's getting sick of Fabian."

Nina nodded before grabbing the freshly printed pages and shoving them into her bag. She clicked out of the database and walked to the door before taking one last look and exiting the office. Upon stepping outside, Nina spotted Fabian talking to Officer Richards. She hurried over to them and put on her best smile.

"Officer Richards!" she exclaimed. "It's nice to see you."

"Nina," he turned to the girl and grinned. "I was wondering when I'd see you. I reckon they took your statement already?"

Nina nodded. "Yeah. We were actually on our way out."

"Well, I just wanted to thank you again. Get back to school safely," he told her before walking away from the teens.

"That was too close of a call," Fabian told her. "He definitely is not as interested in astronomy as I am."

Nina let out a small laugh. "Well, we got what we needed and that's all that matters."

"So what now?" he asked.

Nina thought for a moment before lightly shaking her head. "We just need to gain some sort of understanding. Let's head back to class and we can sort everything out later."

(***)

Noise bounced off the walls in Isaac's hospital room and he grinned as his friends from the track team tried to lift his spirits.

As he looked around the room his eyes caught Mick's who stood in a corner in the far right of the room.

"We're going to get some food in the cafeteria. We'll be back," said one of the boys.

Isaac nodded and he watched as the crowd shuffled out of the room leaving only him and Mick.

"Are you just going to stand in the corner or…?" Isaac laughed and gestured for him to take a seat.

Mick sighed and he walked over to Isaac. "Sorry, I'm just-,"

"Not excited to be a part of the team?" Isaac asked. "Kind of a miracle you are. You just barely made the cut."

Mick shook his head and sat down on the chair beside his bed. "No, I just feel guilty is all."

The smile on Isaac's face dropped and he looked down at Mick. "Were you the one that shot me?"

"No, but-,"

"Then stop beating yourself up," he interrupted. "It's not your fault."

"I promised you that we wouldn't put you in danger. I also promised Danielle," Mick replied as he looked down at his hands.

Isaac stared at the boy before letting out a deep breath and leaning back in his bed. "It's not your fault, mate. Just forget about it or it's going to be a bit difficult spending time at Anubis considering you're the only one I tolerate."

Mick cracked a smile at the comment before nodding. "So spending a couple hours with Nina and Jerome as you were bleeding out didn't create some sort of unbreakable bond?"

Isaac laughed for a couple seconds until he felt a sharp pain where his stitches were and winced. "Jesus, haven't laughed like that all day."

"You're welcome then," Mick grinned. "But really, you still don't like them?"

"I never didn't like them," Isaac told him. "I just didn't like the drama that came with you and all of your friends. Turns out I was right to try and avoid you guys. Anyways, Nina and Jerome are alright. I mean, as I was lying on my back thinking that I was going to die, Nina was forcing me to make conversation to take my mind off of it. Not too many people are calm in a situation like that."

"Yeah, well apparently she's a veteran when it comes to danger," Mick pointed out.

"Apparently most of you are," Isaac added.

Mick chuckled. "Well if it makes you feel any better, I'm as new to this as you are."

"Cheers then," he laughed once more and lightly shook his head. "I suppose there's no avoiding it anymore."

"I think we passed that point the first time a gun was pointed at one of us," Mick declared before standing up. "I've got to head back now. Should I send them a message?"

"Yeah." Isaac nodded and he looked around at the numerous gift baskets that crowded the room. "Stop sending shit."

Mick smiled before shoving his hands into his pockets. "I'll be sure to do just that. Amber goes kind of overboard when it comes to all the 'get well soon' stuff."

"I can tell," he frowned slightly and handed Mick one of the smaller baskets. "Here. Enjoy. I think it's moisturizer or something."

Mick took the basket from his hands and said another quick goodbye before turning his back to the hospitalized teen and walking out of his room.

(***)

"I don't think that's it," Amber declared as she crossed off something from her clipboard. "Maybe you can fly?"

Fabian shook his head at the suggestion. "I don't think we should try to test that one."

"Right," she agreed and once again crossed something off. "Maybe you don't have one."

"So I'm the only ordinary one then?" He frowned.

"You _want_ powers?" Danielle gawked at him and shook her head. "Well you can have mine."

Fabian turned to the girl who was seated on the sofa across the room. "Having trouble?"

"People really don't know how to control their thoughts." She sighed and walked over to where the trio sat at the dining table. "I can't sleep at night with all these dumb voices in my head. Every day is a constant headache."

"I froze my vanity yesterday," Amber revealed before looking down at her hands. "This seriously sucks."

"Which is why we need to be looking into everything that has happened," Nina finally spoke. She looked up from her laptop and pointed to the items she had collected when she, Jerome, and Isaac went to the abandoned house.

"I have no idea how to translate these," she groaned and slid the letters to Fabian. "They look like Egyptian hieroglyphics, but there's something off about them.

Fabian examined one of the letters and lightly shook his head. He frowned and set it down. "You're right. There is definitely something off about them. I could look into it. I'm heading to the library later anyways."

Nina smiled and nodded. "Thanks."

Just then the door to Anubis house opened and Mick entered the dining room.

"Hey," he greeted the group and took a seat at the table before setting down some of his things.

"Were you at practice?" Amber asked.

He shook his head and slid the gift basket of moisturizer to the blonde. "I was at the hospital. Isaac said to stop sending him things."

Amber frowned, but she didn't protest as she took the basket.

"How is he?" Nina asked. "I saw him earlier, but he seemed a bit off."

"When did you go to the hospital?" Fabian asked.

"This morning," she told him. "I went before heading to the police station."

Fabian frowned at the confession, but instead of saying anything he turned back to Mick. "Did he have any new information?"

"No. He was just tired, I think," Mick answered. He looked down at the table and took notice of the letters. He narrowed his eyes a bit and picked one up, scanning it carefully.

Nina raised an eyebrow at the action and leaned forward. "Do you know what language that is?"

Mick was quiet for a moment before he looked up. "Uh, yeah, I do actually. I saw it in a textbook. They're Egyptian hieroglyphics."

"They can't be," Fabian told him. "There's something different about them."

"There is," Mick agreed. "It's in cursive."

"Cursive hieroglyphics?" Amber questioned as she glanced at the letter. "That's a thing?"

"In Ancient Egypt, cursive hieroglyphics were often used for religious literature. Nobles also used them," Mick explained. "It looks like whoever was writing this really didn't want people to be able to read it."

"Can you?" Danielle asked.

Mick considered this before nodding. "I think so. I'd need a couple of hours though."

"Wait," Fabian scoffed and shook his head. "Since when can you read Egyptian hieroglyphics?"

"I-I don't know," he frowned and looked at Fabian. "But I'm sure that I can."

"After reading a textbook about them?" He questioned.

Mick shrugged. "Yeah."

"Mick, what year were hieroglyphics first used?"

"Around 3300 to 3200 BCE," Mick answered in a heartbeat.

"How many languages exist in the modern universe?"

"Roughly 6,500,"

"What is Einstein's theory of relativity?"

"Well, it's a bit too complicated to answer in one sentence. I mean, it explained that what we perceive as the force of gravity in fact arises from the curvature of space and time. Einstein proposed-,"

"I knew it!" Fabian cut him off. "Something has been off the past couple of weeks. You've been raising your hand in class and actually getting things right."

"Hey!" Mick protested. "I'm not an idiot."

"You have to admit that you've kind of been excelling in classes that you usually fail," Amber told him. "I mean, no one just knows how to read cursive Egyptian hieroglyphics."

Mick frowned, but this time he didn't say anything.

"When did you begin to suspect this?" Nina asked.

"I admit that during class I was surprised at his sudden knowledge of physics, but I chose to believe he was just finally using my study guides. However, a couple days ago when Isaac told us about his second power, Mick knew exactly what it was in an instant. Retrocognition isn't something that people know off the top of their heads, especially guys like Mick. The other day we were looking up a bunch of powers and I think when we scrolled past retrocognition Mick memorized it."

"That's his power? He's a walking encyclopedia?" Danielle asked.

"No, it's more than that. He sees things and then he just knows everything about it. It has to be some sort of superhuman intelligence," Fabian clarified. "His brain has probably advanced far beyond the genius level. This includes memory, emotional intelligence, and who knows what else."

"So I'm officially the smartest guy in the room?" Mick asked. "I'll take it."

"Guess we don't need Fabian anymore," Patricia smirked from where she stood in the kitchen.

Fabian glared at the girl who had entered the room during their conversation. "Not funny."

She shrugged and stepped into the dining area. "Anything else I missed?"

Nina shook her head. "Not really, but I have a feeling that with Mick we may be able to find out more."

(***)

Isaac had his back turned to the entrance of his room as he tried to fall asleep. His body ached and his eyes could barely stay open yet when he tried to doze off, his mind wouldn't let him. Isaac sighed and he shifted so that he was staring up at the ceiling as the mechanic beeping of machines occupied the dark space. He should've been grateful that he couldn't sleep considering that for the past few days his nights had been filled with dreams of gunshots and him waking up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat, gasping and clutching his chest.

He didn't mention the nightmares to the doctor he was told to speak to in case he had any weird reactions to the medication he was on. Isaac knew that it wasn't the meds that were making his head cloudy. It was everything that had happened since he came back from Peru. Of course he couldn't mention any of that either. He didn't want to be checked into the psych ward of the hospital.

He sighed and let out a deep breath before closing his eyes and once again attempting to sleep. His thoughts slipped away and he could feel his breathing slow down a bit as sleep began to consume him, but just as he was about to enter a deep slumber, he heard the door knob rattle as someone pushed open the door to his hospital room and walked in.

Light flooded the area for a moment before the door closed behind the interloper. Isaac didn't dare open his eyes as footsteps sounded in his ear. Instead, he kept them tightly shut and pretended to sleep.

Suddenly, he felt the hairs on his arm stand as someone moved close to him. Cold breath hit his face and it took everything in him not to start panicking right at that moment. He didn't want to cause a scene in case it was just Danielle or Officer Richards. However, he knew that it wasn't them. The moment the person had entered the room Isaac had felt a chill run down his spine. It was an unfamiliar sensation, but he knew that it wasn't a good one.

"This'll be quick," a raspy, cold voice spoke.

Isaac's eyes shot open at the snake-like whisper and he immediately punched in the direction the voice had come from.

"Ugh," the person groaned as they fell back and crashed into the monitor beside the hospital bed.

Isaac looked down at them, but all he could see were shadows created by the moonlight peaking in through the closed shades of the window.

"You shouldn't have done that," the voice hissed and Isaac gulped as he ripped the IV from his arm and scrambled out of his bed. He wanted to run out of the room, but the person stood tall, blocking his only clear exit.

"Who are you?" Isaac asked, his voice calm and steady.

The person didn't answer. Instead, they tilted their head and lifted something into the air. Even in the dark Isaac knew that the cold metal in their hand was a gun.

"Don't," was the only word that Isaac could think to say as he backed up towards the windows.

"My orders were clear," they replied. "Kill the boy."

Isaac frowned and he took another step back. The person stepped forward in response, entering the moonlight, and Isaac gasped as he recognized the doctor that had been treating him. His face was stiff and cold and where his eyes should've been were bright red orbs.

"What the-," Isaac narrowed his eyes and he reached for the lamp beside him before throwing it at the doctor.

The lamp knocked the gun from his hands and Isaac immediately dove under the hospital bed for the weapon. The man remained unresponsive for a moment before bending down and grasping Isaac's wrist.

He pulled the teen from under the bed before he could get the gun, and stared into his dark eyes. His other hand gripped Isaac's neck and he began to tighten his grip.

Isaac struggled for a moment, clawing desperately at the man's large beefy hand, before he gave up on trying to pry him off himself and instead used his free hand to reach for the gun that lay a couple feet away. He stretched his fingers as his life slowly drained from him, a breathless "no" escaping his lips. His vision began to blur, but just as he was about to give up his fingers grazed the gun and he was able to shift the weapon closer to himself.

He wrapped his fingers around it and quickly knocked the gun against the man's head. His hand immediately loosened and his eyes returned to their normal state as he fell forward and landed on Isaac with a quiet thud.

Isaac tried to catch his breath as he reached up and ran his fingers over his neck. He coughed and pushed the doctor off of him before grabbing his jacket from the chair by his hospital bed, shoving the gun into one of his pockets, and stumbling out of the room.

(***)

It was past curfew, yet Nina and Fabian were still up doing research. Fabian had suggested that the two go to bed and get some rest, but Nina had refused, wanting to learn as much as possible. He didn't understand why she was so caught up in everything that had been happening. He wanted to tell her, but he feared that it would come off as insensitive or petty. And yet, something in him told him not to keep quiet anymore.

"We won't know anything until Mick translates the letters," he stated as he watched her eyes move rapidly over pages.

She ignored him, too busy looking over Mr. Yamata's file.

"Nina," he tried to get her attention once again. "Maybe you should take a break?"

"I need to finish this," she replied without looking at him.

Fabian sighed and he took a seat beside her. He placed a hand over the documents and forced her to turn to him.

"This isn't like you Nina. I mean, you stole police records," he pointed out.

"You're acting as if this isn't something we would've done before."

"But this may be going too far."

She groaned and stood up, throwing her hands into the air in frustration. "Someone got shot Fabian! Someone almost died. How many times do I need to remind you of that before you get it?"

"I get it Nina," he insisted as he too stood up. "But there is a point where you have to take a step back and not get buried in all this… this… chaos."

Nina's face softened for a moment before returning to the cold stone it had been seconds earlier. "Isaac is in a hospital bed because of me. He doesn't deserve this. I promised him he wouldn't get hurt."

"You barely know him!"

Nina rolled her eyes. "I know him enough."

Fabian frowned at the statement and his voice lowered in volume as he asked, "what exactly happened at the parking structure Nina?"

She scoffed and took a step away from him. "Don't turn this into something it isn't."

His jaw tightened and he crossed his arms over his chest. "Then answer the question."

"Fabian-,"

"Nina."

She let out a short breath and lightly shook her head. "Fine, you want to know what happened? I'll tell you what happened. I held Isaac in my arms for hours as he lay on the floor with a bullet lodged inside him. I told him stories and tried to keep his mind off the fact that he was bleeding out and was probably going to die. I was there for him in a dark time and that is why I can't turn my back on this. Not when he's still at risk, not when we're still at risk. I won't let anyone else end up in a hospital bed or, worse, in a shallow grave. And you can be angry and annoyed and fed up with me, but I'm not going to stop looking for answers. Not when there is so much at risk."

Fabian was quiet for a long time before he sighed and stared into Nina's eyes. "Nina-,"

"I'm sorry Fabian," she told him. "I really am, but if you know me then you know that I can't just let this go."

He nodded, neither a frown or smile on his face. "I know."

She reached for his hand then, but before she could grasp it, the door to Anubis house opened and Isaac crashed into the floor.

Nina's eyes were wide and she rushed to the boy wearing only a hospital gown and thin jacket. "Isaac!"

She turned him over and gasped at the blood that stained his hospital gown. "What happened?"

"I think his stitches tore," Fabian guessed as he looked at the stain.

Isaac could barely move as he reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun. Fabian backed up at the sight, but Nina remained still as she took it from his hands.

"Isaac?"

He coughed and forced his eyes to remain open for another second as he said, "they found me."

And then he faded into unconsciousness.


	7. Bruises, Myths, and Silent Hints

Chapter 7: Bruises, Myths, and Silent Hints

The next day, Isaac woke up in a bed that wasn't his. His mind was foggy and every part of him was yelling at him to close his eyes, roll over, and pretend that everything was as it was a couple months ago. However, the fragrant smell of lavender that stained the pillow reminded him once more that he wasn't where he was supposed to be. He groaned and shielded his eyes from the sunlight streaming through the windows as he looked down at the comforter covering him. Once again, he felt his body panic at the unfamiliarity of it and he threw it off the bed before sitting up.

"You're awake,"

Isaac was startled by the voice, but he relaxed upon seeing Nina at the door. "Umm, where am I?"

"My room," she answered. "I hope you don't mind but we had to take off the hospital gown."

Isaac stared down at his body then and suddenly took notice of the fact that he was only in his underwear.

Nina offered him a small smile before pointing to the clothes at the end of the bed. "Danielle brought those over last night when we called her. She's downstairs."

" _Last night_ …" The words felt heavy in Isaac's mouth and he returned his eyes to Nina. "How did you get me up here without Victor seeing?"

"Victor was out last night," she explained.

Isaac nodded, accepting her answer, and he gestured for her to take a seat. "Where did you sleep?"

"With Amber," she told him as she sat on her bed.

"Sorry." He frowned before looking down at the bandage that covered his stitches. "Did they break?"

"Not completely," she told him. "You'll probably have to get those checked again."

"Right," he sighed and put his head in his hands as the events of yesterday flooded his mind.

He gulped and looked up at Nina who was staring at him with wide eyes. Hesitantly, she reached up and brushed her fingers over the bruises that covered his neck.

"Isaac…"

Her hands were cold and he closed his eyes for a moment before taking hold of her hand and removing it from his neck. "Don't."

Nina frowned at the word, but she didn't let it faze her as she asked, "What happened?"

"Someone tried to kill me last night," he revealed.

"But how were they able to get in?"

"It was the doctor… He attacked me."

"What?" she furrowed her brow and lightly shook her head. "I don't understand."

"I don't either, but he didn't seem like himself. He was acting robotic and his voice was cold and slimy and his eyes… his eyes were red."

"Did he say anything?"

"Just that he had to kill me," Isaac told her.

Nina nodded and she stood up then. "You should get dressed. Meet us downstairs when you're ready. I'll tell the others what happened."

He waited until she left before walking over to Amber's vanity. He gulped and stared at the marks on his neck before picking up the school uniform that Danielle had brought over. He first put on his slacks, followed by his belt and his shoes. Then, he put on a tank top before grabbing his button up and slipping his arms into it. He buttoned it slowly and adjusted the collar as he brought his tie under it. He frowned upon realizing that it didn't cover all the marks on his neck.

(***)

"So he was attacked?" Mara asked from where she sat at the dining table. "Is he okay?"

Nina nodded. "I think so, but I think it's clear that we need to start watching our backs. None of us should ever be left alone, especially Isaac."

"What are you suggesting?" Patricia asked. "That we use a 'buddy' system?"

"Exactly,"

"I don't think it's us they're after," Jerome speculated. "I think it's Isaac."

"Jerome's right," Fabian agreed. "Every time someone has gotten hurt, Isaac was there and last night the man said that he was ordered to kill Isaac, not us."

"We're not abandoning him, if that's what you're suggesting." Nina glared at Fabian.

He shook his head and stood up. "I'm not saying that. I just think that maybe he hasn't told us everything. He may know more about what's happening."

"We don't know that," Danielle stated.

Patricia scoffed. "That's easy for you to say. We've only known him for a couple of weeks. You two are best friends. How can we really trust him?"

Suddenly everyone began shouting from where they sat and Nina frowned as she looked over at the door by the sofa and saw Isaac watching the teens argue. His eyes were dark and hollow and they sent chills down Nina's spine.

She wanted to know what he was thinking and yet she knew that he wouldn't tell her. They weren't close enough for that… but she wanted to be. Something about the boy intrigued her and she didn't quite know what to do about it.

"Quiet!" Nina's voice filled the room and everyone stopped to look at her, surprised at the demanding nature of the word.

"We can sit here and argue and say that Isaac is the only one they want, but we don't know that. For all we know, they could have a list and Isaac is merely the first one on it. We are in this together. If we start to turn on one another now, who knows what'll happen. We have some information and we're trying to piece it all together and I think that once we do, everything will be so much clearer. Just give me some time."

"Okay, but what do we do about Isaac?" Amber asked. "They want him dead."

"We can't leave him alone," Danielle declared. "One person should be with him at all times and we should try to keep him in public places."

"I don't need a nanny," Isaac spoke from where he stood.

The teens all turned to look at him, all suddenly taking notice of his presence.

"It's for your own safety," Danielle assured him.

Isaac shook his head and grabbed his backpack from where it sat on the sofa. Without another look at the group, he left the house.

Danielle sighed and she also grabbed her things. "I'll take first shift. We have two classes together in the morning."

She walked out then and the group of teens quickly dispersed.

(***)

"Isaac!" Danielle chased after her friend.

Isaac refused to acknowledge her as he sped up. She groaned and ran towards him before she was finally able to step in front of him and stop him.

"You can't just run away from me."

"I'm not running away from _you_. I'm running away from _them_!" he confessed.

Danielle frowned and she shook her head. "All they've done is tried to help."

Isaac scoffed and pointed back at Anubis house. "No, all they've done is put my life at risk because they don't know how to let things go. They could've ignored the letter. They could've left us alone, but they just had to take the words of some mysterious messenger. I've been shot and strangled and they have the nerve to sit there and blame it all on me. I'm done with this. I'm done with them and if you choose to stay involved then I'm done with you."

Danielle's face fell at his last words. "Isaac-,"

Before she could say anything else, Isaac walked past her, bumping shoulders with her as he did.

(***)

"I think I've got it figured out," Mick told the group.

They sat outside after classes, watching as Mick deciphered the letters before them.

"What do they say?" Nina asked.

Mick slid the letter over to her and placed his finger on the first few sentences. "Whoever wrote this apparently found a jewel at an excavation site in Egypt. He believes that it's one of the ones from some ancient text depicting a myth. He plans to send it to Peru before sending it to England, in order to authenticate it."

"We found the jewel in Peru," Amber stated as she leaned forward. "I guess it never made it to England."

"What does this mean?" Fabian wondered. "Are the people that tried to kill Isaac looking for this jewel?"

"I don't know," Mick sighed. "The rest of the letters are too damaged to properly decipher. My guess is that we'll be able to learn more by reading up on the myth he mentioned."

"Which is?" Amber waited for Mick to answer.

The blond shrugged. "He didn't mention a name."

"Do you have any idea how many Egyptian myths there are?" Fabian groaned and let his head fall to the table. "I'm going to be in the library for weeks."

"Best get started then," Patricia replied and Fabian glared at the girl.

"Do you think the myth will tell us what abilities we're supposed to have?" Alfie asked. "The suspense is killing me."

Mick shrugged and stood up. "I don't know, but let me know what you figure out."

"Where are you going?" Nina asked.

"I have track practice," he revealed. "And I can't be late again, so I'll see you guys later."

Once Mick walked away, Nina turned back to the group. She sighed as she gathered up all the letters.

"What are you doing?" Amber asked.

"We aren't going to get much done without Mick, so we should talk later," she replied.

Fabian nodded in agreement. "She's right. We might as well head to the library."

Nina watched as the group collected their things and began to desert the area. She frowned and looked down at the letters once more.

There was a part of her that wanted to rip them up and let everything go, but she knew that the action wouldn't accomplish anything. She was already in too deep. _They_ were in too deep. Everyone she cared about was suddenly at risk. It wasn't just her, Amber, Fabian, Patricia, and Alfie. It was the people she shared a home with, the people she had classes with, and the people she had only just begun to get to know.

Perhaps it was just Fabian getting to her. He had had a look in his eyes last night before Isaac came crashing into Anubis house. He had seemed scared. Maybe it's because he had realized something that Nina had come to know about herself pretty early on after moving to England. She attracted chaos. Everywhere she went bad things seemed to happen and danger can only appear so many times in a person's life before it stops being a coincidence. It had to be her.

Nina shook her head then and she lifted it, her eyes meeting Isaac's. The teen stood a couple feet away, dressed in his track uniform, the bruises on his neck darker than they had been in the morning.

"Isaac,"

He took a step back at his name, and Nina could tell that he was debating running away.

"Can we talk?" she asked. The question came out a lot quieter than she intended almost as if she thought that if she spoke too loudly she'd spook him.

His shoulders relaxed slightly and he shrugged. "I don't have anything to say."

"Well I do," she replied. "I'm sorry about this morning."

"What do you have to be sorry for?" he asked. His words were strong and clear yet Nina could see the way his eyes dimmed after they had left his lips.

"They weren't thinking when they said what they said. They're just scared."

Isaac rolled his eyes and he walked up to her. In any other moment, Nina would've stepped back, but the way he approached her wasn't threatening. He wasn't angry… he was frustrated. "Why do you feel like it's your job to apologize for them? Why are you trying so desperately to make me feel better? For all you know, they're right. Maybe I am hiding some big dark secret. I mean, we don't know each other, so why do you bother sticking up for me? Why not trust your friends?"

"Because you're scared too."

Her answer caught Isaac off guard and, for a moment, his hard resolve dissipated and his eyes grew soft. Nina gulped and she stepped forward, but almost as quickly as his mask had fallen, it went back up and he turned away from her.

"I don't want any part of this. I don't want you or any of your friends to talk to me anymore. I want to be left alone."

Then he left her, a feeling of sadness and disappointment settling in her… and she didn't understand why.

(***)

"Nice practice Mick," one of his new teammates patted him on the shoulder before heading to the locker room.

Mick sighed and he wiped the sweat from his forehead as he looked around the now empty track. He picked up his water bottle and began to head down when he spotted a figure approaching the premises. He squinted and focused in on the person before realization dawned on him and he ran over to them.

"Isaac!"

Isaac groaned at the sound of Mick and he turned to find the boy racing over to him.

"What are you doing?" Mick asked.

"I going to run," he replied.

Mick frowned at his answer. "You shouldn't be running."

Isaac rolled his eyes at the comment and proceeded to tie his laces. Mick sighed and he placed a hand on the teen's shoulder. At Mick's touch, Isaac shrugged off his hand and glared at the boy.

"Do you mind?"

Mick frowned and he stepped back, prepared to leave the boy on his own, yet there was something that didn't quite sit right, so he stepped forward instead. "Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Act like you did when we first met."

The words made Isaac grow stiff and he hesitated for a moment before continuing to tie his laces.

"I know I'm probably not the first one to give you this speech today, but I'm still going to say it because you're acting like a dick and all we're trying to do is help you."

" _Help me_?" Isaac scoffed and he turned to Mick in a flash. "Before I met you I wasn't a freak with visions. I wasn't in the hospital after being shot. I wasn't strangled and-,"

His voice faltered at the last word and he lightly shook his head before setting his eyes on Mick. "I wasn't strangled and convinced that I was going to die, that the heavy breath I took before someone's hands tightened around my neck would be my last."

There was something about the sentence that made Mick's heart hurt. Before him was a boy that in the span of just a couple of weeks had been through something that the average human would never come close to. That Mick would never come close to… or at least he hoped he wouldn't.

"Look, I'd be lying if I said that I could relate to everything you just said. And I'd be lying if I said that if you continue to help us you won't get hurt, but you need to know that if you were on your own during any of that, you might not have gotten to the point of yelling at me about it. I don't want for what happened in the kitchen this morning to be the reason you turn your back on us and end up getting yourself killed. I care about you Isaac and I need you to know that no one is against you. You're not alone, so please just trust me. Don't push me away."

Mick must've said something right because Isaac let out a long shuddering breath and gulped. "I'm sorry. Sometimes it's just easier to be a dick than to realize that not everyone has bad intentions."

The blond smiled and he gestured towards the row of houses by the track. "C'mon. I'm sure they could use our help."

Isaac nodded and the two made their way to Anubis.

(***)

"Wow, did you guys check out the entire library?" Mick asked upon stepping through the front doors. A majority of the Anubis residents sat at the dining table, which was currently covered by worn leather-bound books, as they flipped through various Egyptian myths.

"We've been reading for over an hour and still haven't found anything concrete," Fabian groaned.

Isaac raised an eyebrow at the teens. "What exactly are you looking for?"

"A myth that has to do with the jewels," Nina told him.

"Oh, you mean the myth of Ptah and Set?"

Suddenly, all eyes turned to Isaac and Fabian slammed his book shut. "What did you just say?"

Isaac looked at everyone before setting his bag down and repeating, "The myth of Ptah and Set?"

"You know the myth?" Patricia gawked at him. "Why didn't you tell us earlier?"

Isaac rolled his eyes. "Sorry, I guess I was a bit too busy getting shot and then strangled."

Patricia frowned and mumbled a quick sorry as she sank into her seat.

"That doesn't matter," Nina insisted as she stood up. "What's the myth?"

"Well, Set, the god of chaos and evil, wanted to find a way to defeat his brother Osiris once and for all, so he asked Ptah, the god of creation, to make him a weapon unlike any other that'd allow him to conquer Osiris. Ptah was hesitant at first, but Set threatened him and so he created the blood rubies, jewels that contained power that even Ra lacked. Set took the jewels and he went to attack Osiris, but before he could, his son, Anubis, stopped him at the gates of the underworld.

"The two battled before Anubis knocked the jewels from his father, and almost broke them. Set was so angry at his son that he tried to kill him, and with all the new power he now possessed he could of, but before he was able to Ptah appeared and revealed to Anubis that the only way to stop Set and keep him from killing Osiris was to kill him and have the jewels reabsorb all the power.

"Anubis then took his staff and drove it through his father, killing him and sending all the power from him straight into the jewels. As Set died, he swore to Anubis that he'd get his power once more. Ptah took back the jewels and buried them in Egypt, in hopes that no one would ever get their hands on them again.

"Legend says that Set's spirit was trapped in one of the jewels along with the power and that if someone were to get the jewels and break them they would receive the powers within, but also pay the consequence of unleashing Set's vengeful spirit into the world. Once Set is released he'll do anything in his power to retrieve the abilities and the fragments of the jewels in order to attain the power once again."

The room was quiet as Isaac finished the tale before Fabian shook his head and turned to him. "So you're saying that when the jewels broke, we released Set into the world and that he is coming after us to retrieve his power?"

"Yes, but Set would need to obtain a human host first before he could get to us," Isaac told him.

"The doctor!" Nina exclaimed. "You said that the doctor had red eyes almost as if he was-,"

"Possessed," Danielle finished for her. "Set's already here."

"Okay, sure, but that doesn't explain the letters and our crazy new teacher," Mick pointed out.

"Someone else must be after the jewels too," Nina concluded.

"So you're saying that not only do we have a crazy gun wielding history professor after us, but we also have a full-fledged Egyptian god that likes to sneak into people's rooms and strangle them in the middle of the night?" Patricia asked. She scoffed and pushed away the book she had been reading. "Awesome."

"Okay, so this may not be ideal," Nina stated.

Jerome crossed his arms over his chest. "You think?"

Nina frowned before gesturing to Isaac. "But at least we now know what we're up against thanks to Isaac."

A slight murmur spread throughout the group and Mick cleared his throat. "So what now?"

It was a good question, one that brought silence back to the teenagers. Nina examined them and took note of the fear and worry in their eyes. They needed guidance and a voice of reason and answers. Nina knew that she was as scared as them, maybe even more, but she still wanted to give them some sort of hope to cling to, some sort of normalcy, so she raised her head and forced a smile.

"How about a movie? My treat,"

She doesn't remember who agreed first, but soon all her housemates were standing up and heading to their rooms to get dressed. Once they were all gone, she let out a deep breath and buried her head in her hands.

"You think a movie will help?"

Isaac's voice broke through and she looked at him before shrugging. "Who knows?"

He nodded and shoved his hands into his pockets. She could see how hard he was trying to not look out of place, but with all the bruises and scars he had acquired since their first meeting, it was impossible.

"What?" he asked and Nina suddenly realized she had been staring.

"What changed your mind?"

He thought for a moment before bringing his own hand to his neck and gently running his fingers over his tender skin. "I don't want to be the guy that only regrets the bad choices he's made in moments of life or death."

The answer made Nina smile and she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him. Isaac was taken aback by the gesture and he remained still for a moment before returning the hug.

"What was that for?" he questioned when she pulled away.

Nina shrugged, her hand moving from his back to the tattoo on his arm. "After everything you've been through, I just thought that you needed a hug."

He didn't say anything for a second before he let out a small breathy laugh. "Thanks."

"No problem," she assured him before finally removing her hand from his arm. "Also, if you don't mind me asking, when'd you get the tattoo?"

Isaac looked down at his bicep then and his eyes widened slightly as if he was only just now noticing the black ink for the first time. "I-,"

Before he could finish his sentence, the Anubis residents flooded back into the room and the moment was lost. Isaac faded into the background and Nina regarded him with a heavy heart, only half listening as Fabian spoke to her.

Isaac tried to make conversation with Danielle, but he could feel Nina's eyes on him. She was getting too close too fast and Isaac didn't quite know how he felt about it, so he pushed back the millions of questions bubbling up in his mind about his tattoo because if he let them come to the surface then he'd be forced to accept that the question Nina had asked, was one he didn't know the answer to.


	8. Trespassing, Darkness, and Childhood

Chapter 8: Trespassing, Darkness, and Childhood Nightmares

 _Isaac didn't know where he was. His eyes searched the premises frantically, looking for some sort of sign, some sort of light, but there was only darkness… the kind of darkness that made a person wonder whether or not their eyes were open. Isaac didn't like the dark. Something about it always seemed so cold and lonely. Maybe that's why his skin was crawling. Maybe that's why panic was bubbling up in his chest, but what could he do? Every time he tried to open his mouth, no words came out. He was forced to listen, and yet it seemed that it was just him and the darkness._

" _Just open your eyes,"_

 _The voice startled him and once again he was left to search his surroundings and try to figure out where the voice had come from._

" _Open your eyes,"_

 _The voice came out louder, more urgent, more frustrated. Isaac tried to oblige, but as far as he could tell his eyes were already open._

" _DO IT!"_

 _And that was when he felt it. Fingers wrapped themselves around Isaac's neck, squeezing the life out of him. He gasped and clawed desperately at the hands, but it was no use. They tightened and Isaac could feel himself slipping._

Isaac sat up instantly, his hand immediately making its way to his neck. His eyes ran across the familiar objects in his bedroom and he let out a quiet sigh as he threw his comforter off his body and rushed to the bathroom. Once there, he flipped the light switch and a bright florescent light illuminated the cold tiled space.

He turned the faucet and splashed some cold water on his face before looking up at his reflection. His dark eyes were lighter, appearing almost like a chocolate brown in the mirror and his dark brown hair was matted with nightmare induced sweat. His skin was paler than usual, droplets of water still dripping from it.

He hesitated for a moment before glancing at the tattoo on his bicep. At the sight of it, he frowned and he immediately switched off the light and headed back to his room, suddenly aware of the bright sunlight streaming in through his window.

Isaac glanced at the alarm clock by his nightstand. _6:17 AM_.

(***)

"Tell me again why we're jogging this early in the morning?" Mick stifled a yawn and turned to the dark haired boy beside him who was currently stretching his limbs.

"Hey, no one forced you to wake up this early," Isaac smirked and he bent down to tie his laces.

Mick rolled his eyes before doing the same. "Still. Normal people don't wake up before 7 in the morning."

"Well, it's a good thing we're anything but," he replied.

Mick cracked a smile at his response and he nodded. "You're right about that."

Instead of responding, Isaac began to run and Mick chased after him, desperate to keep up.

Lately, Mick and Isaac had been spending a lot of time together whether it'd been jogging in the morning, grabbing lunch in the afternoons, or watching dumb action movies at night. Mick liked having someone around Anubis house that was into all the things he was into. Suddenly, he didn't feel like the dumb jock anymore. He had a friend that understood his love of sports and random explosions in movies. He had a friend that didn't make a face at him when he chose to drink a kale smoothie over a can of coke. He had a friend that saw the side of him that didn't just play sports and eat healthy, but cracked dumb jokes and secretly loved mystery novels. Isaac had quickly become one of Mick's favorite people in the span of a couple of weeks, and he hoped that nothing would come between the two.

"Can we just stop for a second?" Mick managed to ask between breaths. "I know I've said this to you before, but there is no way you aren't a mutant."

Isaac laughed and shook his head. "What? Never met someone that could keep up with the great Mick Campbell?"

"Umm, no, actually,"

Isaac laughed and patted Mick on the back. "Well, I'll do you one better. I can surpass the great Mick Campbell."

And then he was off again, and Mick had to suppress a groan as he wiped the sweat from his forehead and raced after him again.

"Did you slow down for me?" Mick asked after taking notice of Isaac's calmer pace.

He shrugged and looked over at him. "I decided to keep you company. Don't get used to it though. I don't slow down for just anybody. If you're going to jog with me in the mornings then you have to learn to keep up."

Mick suppressed the urge to roll his eyes as he playfully shoved Isaac away. "You sound like an arrogant prick."

Isaac grinned. "I thought we had already established that I am one."

Mick opened his mouth to reply, but before he could Isaac's phone began ringing and the teen stopped jogging.

"Who is it?" Mick asked.

Isaac tilted his phone screen towards Mick, revealing Nina's name.

"Give me a minute," Isaac said before walking a couple feet away.

Mick frowned and he crossed his arms over his chest, watching as Isaac accepted the call and raised his cell phone to his ear. Mick couldn't quite tell what they were talking about. All he knew was that Isaac was laughing and smiling at whatever it was that Nina was saying.

He sighed and looked away from his friend, pressing his foot into the mud and watching as it squished out the sides from under his sneakers. It had been raining constantly the past few days, making practice for sports miserable and dampening Mick's mood significantly. Perhaps that's why he felt as though there was a dark cloud hanging over him at that moment.

"Okay, see you in a bit," Isaac stated before ending the call and returning to Mick.

"Leaving so soon?" Mick asked.

Isaac nodded. "Yeah, I have to meet Nina."

"To think I woke up at 6:30 to be treated like this."

Isaac laughed and began to head in the opposite direction. "Don't be jealous. We'll hang later."

"It's fine mate," Mick insisted.

"Alright, see you." And then Isaac was off.

Mick's jaw clenched slightly and he shook his head a bit before continuing on his way.

(***)

"Did you bring them?" Nina asked as soon as Isaac stepped into her room.

He nodded and plopped his backpack down on her bed before unzipping it to reveal a cassette player.

Nina stood up from where she sat at her desk and walked over to him. "Have you listened to it?"

Isaac shook his head. "I haven't even looked at the thing since I brought it back from that cellar."

Nina accepted his answer and took it from his bag before retreating to her desk.

Truth was Isaac had been avoiding playing the tape that they had retrieved the day he had gotten shot. There was something in the back of his mind that told him that that tape would have the answer to a question he hadn't asked himself in years, a question that he had forgotten all about. He knew that the tape could help all of them make more sense of the strange circumstances surrounding them, but he also knew that everything that had happened to them was connected to him. He had found the jewels. He had been shot and strangled. He had known the myth of Ptah and Set without even batting an eyelash.

It was all too much to be a coincidence, he knew that… and he wondered if anyone else had figured that out too.

"You ready?" Nina asked.

Isaac nodded and he grabbed a notepad and pencil from her desk. "Yeah, I'm ready."

She let out a deep breath and pressed play.

Static filled their eyes before a scratchy voice could be made out. " _Day 278. The subject is still unable to guide us to the site. We are looking into alternative methods as the fire treatment is not working as it should. It could be his age, but he appears to lack knowledge of it all. Perhaps he can not bring us to Eridres. Subject may be disposed of in a week unless he proves useful. Only time will tell. Sit Set se revelare._ "

The tape stopped and Nina furrowed her brow and opened up the cassette player. "Was that last bit Latin?"

Isaac didn't respond and Nina turned to him and found him kneeled on the floor, his hands moving rapidly over the page as he drew something. Nina knelt beside him and watched his eyes dart quickly behind his eyelids.

After a couple of minutes, the notepad slipped from his grasp and he took a large gasp of breath before falling forward and using his hands to catch himself. Nina placed a hand on his shoulder and waited for him to steady his breathing.

"I'm fine," he stated as he sat back and ran a hand through his hair.

Nina nodded and she waited for Isaac to grab the notepad from where it had landed. He brought the page close to his face and examined it carefully. He had drawn a large brick building with the image of a dragon breathing fire on it. A dark hooded figure stood in front of it and appeared to be in the process of painting it on the structure.

"Isaac, you're crying," Nina told him.

Immediately, Isaac wiped the stray tears with the back of his hand and handed Nina the drawing.

"Wait, this is-,"

Before she could finish her sentence, Isaac shot up and grabbed the cassette player. He shoved it into his backpack and zipped it up before swinging it over his shoulder. "I have to go."

"Isaac, we have to talk about this," Nina insisted as she walked over to him.

"I just, I need some time," he replied. "Don't show anyone the drawing."

"But-,"

"Please," he pleaded.

Nina's face dropped, but she didn't protest as she closed the notepad. "Okay, but you have to tell me one thing."

He hesitated for a moment before nodding. "What?"

"Why did you just draw your tattoo?"

"I don't know," he answered. "And I need that answer to be good enough for you."

Nina was quiet for what felt like a long time before she sighed and said, "I-,"

Upon the word leaving her lips, Isaac turned his back to her and left Anubis house.

(***)

Once he reached his room, Isaac threw his backpack to the floor and began to search his bookshelf for an old notebook. His eyes moved rapidly as he read the spines of various books before he came upon what he was looking for. He pulled a worn marble notebook from the third shelf and flipped to a page in the very back. Large red letters were written across the lined white paper spelling the word 'ERIDRES'.

As soon as Isaac had looked at what he had drawn after listening to the tape, he had felt a rush of memories flood his mind, drowning everything he thought he knew about his childhood. He didn't know what to tell Nina, so he had chosen to run.

He needed to make sense of everything first. He needed to know what it meant. And in the back of his mind he knew that there was only one person who would know the truth, so he ripped the page out of the notebook, rushed out of his house, exited the school's campus, and headed for the police station.

"Isaac, what are you doing here?" Officer Richards asked upon Isaac barging into his office.

The teen didn't say anything. Instead, he slammed the page down on Officer Richards' desk and watched as his smile disappeared and his eyes grew dark.

"Where did you find this?" he asked.

Isaac ignored the question and with a shaky voice asked, "Did you know?"

He was quiet for a couple of seconds before looking up at Isaac and shrugging. "Know what?"

Isaac scoffed and he took a couple steps back, both his hands on his head and his jaw clenched. "Don't play dumb. You're a police officer. You have my file."

"Isaac-,"

"Did you or did you not know?" He cut him off and walked back towards his desk.

"You don't want to cause a scene," Officer Richards advised him as he stood up and closed the door to his office.

Isaac's face fell at the words and he brought his hands down to his sides as he muttered, "Why didn't you tell me?"

He sighed and tried to approach Isaac. "You had forgotten."

Isaac stepped away and pointed a finger at him, his lower lip quivering as he spat out, "I didn't forget! It was just buried!"

"Your father thought it would be best to-,"

"To what?" Isaac asked. Tears were blurring his vision, but he refused to stop as he jabbed Officer Richards in the chest. "To not tell me that I was kidnapped when I was a child and that that's the reason I can't remember anything from before I was eight?"

"Isaac-,"

"Is that why he left me? Was it too much for him to handle? His son being taken for a whole goddamn year!" At that point, Isaac was full on crying and he felt his legs give out under him as he crashed to his knees and let out a choked sob.

"Why the fuck didn't you tell me? I trusted you!"

Officer Richards knelt down and he tried to place a hand on his shoulder, but before he could Isaac wriggled away from him, pressing his back against one of the walls in the office.

"Don't you dare touch me."

The words came out a low whisper, but they hit Officer Richards like a cold hard slap to the face. He lifted his arm in an attempt to reach out again, but before he could touch Isaac, a phone began ringing.

Officer Richards crawled over to Isaac's cell, which had slipped from his pocket upon him hitting the floor, and he answered it.

"Hello…? Oh, umm, it's Officer Richards… No, it's fine… Actually, if it wouldn't be too much trouble can you come down to the station to bring him home…? He's not exactly in the right head space… Okay, thanks."

(***)

"Isaac?"

The teen didn't lift his head at the sound of his name. He stayed put, his forehead pressed against his knees and his arms wrapped around his legs.

"Isaac, will you please look at me?"

He sighed and lifted his head up. "What are you doing here?"

Nina shrugged and knelt beside him. "You left in such a rush. I wanted to know if you were okay."

"He shouldn't have asked you to come," Isaac told her. "I'm fine."

Nina nodded. "I know you are. Let's just get you back to Isis house."

Isaac didn't bother protesting as Nina helped him up from the floor and led him to her car. They drove back to school in silence and as soon as they got to Isaac's room he went straight to his bed.

"I texted Danielle. She had class, but she'll be here soon," she told him.

Isaac didn't respond. He kept his eyes shut, his mind replaying the events of his year away on a loop.

"I don't want to pry-,"

"Then don't," he shot back.

Nina frowned at his words before walking over to him and taking a seat at the end of his bed. "I want to understand what happened. When I reached the station Officer Richards was shaken."

"Yeah, poor Mr. Richards," Isaac spat out the words as if they were poisonous before turning to face Nina. "He lied to me."

"About what?" she wondered.

"Everything… he knew everything and yet he let me go on with my life in blissful ignorance."

"Isaac, what _is_ everything?"

Isaac's eyes met Nina's and he debated whether or not to tell the girl. They had only known each other for a short time and Isaac still wasn't completely sure if he could trust her, but there was something about the last week that made him want to believe that he could. She had been there for him. She had listened and she had noticed things that not even his best friend of ten years had. And then there was that voice in the back of his head, that damn voice that told him to listen to the tapes and told him that Officer Richards knew everything. That voice was telling him to share his secrets with a girl that was far too curious for his own liking. It had never been wrong, and so Isaac had to at least trust that.

He sat up and crossed his legs, giving Nina more room on his bed.

"When I was seven years old, I was kidnapped," he revealed. "My captors were a group of people that thought I was special and that I could lead them to some mystery location. To try and get me to share the information they performed rituals, ones where they burned me and even gave me this tattoo. After almost a year of not giving them what they needed, they planned to get rid of me, but I suppose one of them suddenly gained a conscience, because I was released before my execution and was found by a couple. I was returned home a week after I was found with bruises, burn marks, and a tattoo."

"You're the subject on the tape, aren't you?" Nina asked.

Isaac nodded. "Yeah, I am."

"And you didn't remember any of this?"

"I guess I repressed it or something," he sighed before running a hand though his hair. "Shit, I don't know."

"It's okay," she assured him as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

Isaac shrugged off her hand and placed his head in his hands. "It's not okay, Nina! Everything that has happened the past few weeks is my fault. I'm the freaking catalyst!"

"You didn't know."

He scoffed. "Didn't I though? Who found the jewels? I did. Who was there every time gunshots were fired? I was. Who was strangled by an ancient Egyptian god? I was. It's all too much and I knew that. I just chose to keep quiet about it hoping that no one would be able to put all the pieces together."

"This does not all fall on you, okay?" she insisted. "We are all at fault."

"That's not what Fabian and everyone else will think," Isaac replied. "They already think that the people after us only want me. What do you think is going to happen when they find out that they're right? They're gonna throw me to the wolves."

Nina didn't say anything. Instead she looked down at her hands and heard Isaac let out a strained laugh.

"Exactly."

At that moment, the door to Isaac's room opened and Danielle entered.

They're eyes shot to the blonde as she rushed over to Isaac. "What happened?"

"Nothing," he said before standing up and walking to his door. He opened it wider and waved his hand towards the hallway. "The two of you can leave."

Nina remained seated for a moment before standing up and exiting his room.

"Isaac-,"

"I mean it, Danielle," he stated. "I'm not in the mood to talk right now. I'm sorry."

Danielle pursed her lips before heading out of his room. However, before she left, she looked at him and said, "I know that you're going through things, but don't use that as an excuse to do something stupid."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

(***)

"Everything about this is a bad idea."

Isaac smirked at the comment and he gestured for Mick to continue. "Only if we get caught."

"Which we probably will," Mick pointed out.

"Not with your power," he informed him. "You can do this."

Mick let out a deep breath as he pushed the final button in the sequence and the door to the observatory clicked open.

"And we're in," Isaac stated before stepping into the large space.

Mick watched him for a moment before following him to the row of computers across from them.

Mick didn't know what to expect when Isaac suggested they do something to take their minds off of everything. He had assumed he wanted to go watch a movie or catch a game, not break into a locked observatory in the middle of the night. Upon reaching the building and Isaac telling Mick what he had in mind, the teen's first instinct was to run, but then he remembered everything that his friend had told him about his past and he had decided to push aside his fears and go along with his plan.

Mick knew that if he had told Isaac he didn't want to go through with it that the boy would have understood and they would have gone back to school and retreated to their separate houses, but the thing was that he also didn't want that. He wanted to help Isaac forget, if only just for a moment, about everything, so he had chosen the risky choice, the dumb choice.

"I think I found it." Isaac grinned and gestured for Mick to come to him before he pressed a button on the panel. The roof of the observatory began to split and Isaac took a seat on the ground and stared up at the star filled sky. Mick sat beside him and did the same.

"You want?" Isaac asked as he offered Mick a can of beer from his backpack.

Mick hesitated for a moment before nodding and taking the drink. He cracked it open and brought the aluminum to his lips.

"I'm assuming you do this often," Mick told him.

Isaac shrugged and took a long drink from his beer. "I guess… I don't know. It's actually been a while since I trespassed."

"Why do you do it?" he asked.

Isaac thought for a moment before setting down his drink. "I'm not entirely sure. There's a sort of thrill to it."

"A thrill to trespassing?"

Isaac laughed and shook his head. "No. A thrill to doing something that you're not supposed to do and getting away with it."

"Hmm," Mick considered this logic carefully as he focused his eyes on Isaac. The moonlight hit his face gently, illuminating and highlighting his face beautifully. One would think that he was sitting in the sun by the way he was lying back, but Mick knew that it was merely him letting go of everything, of relaxing and forgetting that the world was burning down outside the doors of the observatory. He looked calm and Mick envied him for that.

"So just the thrill?" Mick asked.

"Yeah, that and my fucked up childhood and extreme daddy issues."

Mick burst out in a fit of laughter and Isaac smiled as he watched his friend before also laughing.

"Is someone in there?" A loud voice filled the room and the two boys bolted up from where they sat on the floor.

"I thought you disconnected the security cameras," Isaac said as he rushed to the panel to close the roof.

"I did," Mick replied. "How was I supposed to know there would be a security guard on duty?"

"Okay, so what is your genius brain telling us to do know?" Isaac asked, a hint of humor in his voice.

"Run," Mick advised before a flashlight shined on them and they broke off into a sprint.

"Hey!" The security guard shouted.

Isaac and Mick quickly headed for the exit and rushed out into the night, the security guard chasing after them.

Isaac laughed and he sped up before turning a corner. Mick did the same before he too felt laughter bubble up in his chest and leave his mouth.

After another few minutes of running, Isaac came to a stop and he hunched over and placed his hands on his knees as he tried to steady his breathing.

"Aren't you glad I made you start jogging in the mornings?" Isaac smirked at his friend.

Mick rolled his eyes as a small smile appeared on his face. "Ugh, piss off."

Isaac chuckled and he stood up straight. "You okay?"

Mick nodded and glanced over his shoulder for a moment before returning his eyes to Isaac. "I think I get it. You know, the thrill. I've never felt more alive."

"Alright, take it easy. You don't want to end up with a record. Trust me."

"Okay, so what now?" he asked.

Isaac let out a deep breath before looking at his watch. _1:37 AM_.

"Now… we go home."

Mick tried to hide his disappointment as he echoed, "home?"

"Yeah, you don't want to get caught by that Victor guy," Isaac told him.

"Yeah," Mick frowned slightly and began walking to their school. "I wouldn't want that."

Isaac bumped shoulders with him. "C'mon, you can be a delinquent tomorrow. Let's go."

The two walked in silence then, the only reminder that there was even another person beside Mick being the occasional brushing of their hands.

Mick gulped, a knot forming in the pit of his stomach. With that dark cloud hanging over him again, he suddenly regretted going to the observatory.

(***)

The next morning, Danielle waited for Nina at a small café, her hands wrapped around a coffee mug. As soon as she spotted the girl entering the shop, she waved her over.

Nina smiled at Danielle as she removed her scarf. "Hey."

"Hi," Danielle greeted. "I ordered you some tea."

Nina happily took the cup that the blonde pointed at. "Thanks."

"So…"

"So…"

"I wanted to talk to you about Isaac," Danielle stated.

"What about him?"

She took a sip from her drink before saying, "He hasn't been talking to me lately, but I can sense that something is wrong. You've been spending a lot of time with him recently, so I was hoping that you would tell me."

"I don't know if it's my place to say anything," she replied.

"I'm worried about him, Nina."

Nina considered this for a moment before sighing. "I don't want to betray his trust."

"I understand that, but you don't know him like I do," Danielle told her. "I can see him slipping and I want to help."

"I care about Isaac, Danielle and I'll be there for him until he decides that he wants to talk to you," she stated.

Danielle narrowed her eyes at Nina before she set down her mug. "You like him, don't you?"

Nina hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. "No, he's my friend. I just care about him."

"I know that you care about him, but you're lying to yourself if you think that you care about him only as a friend."

Nina was quiet for a couple of seconds as she played with the string of the tea bag in her cup. She let out a deep breath and looked up at her. "What if I do?"

Danielle's face fell a bit and she placed a hand over hers. "Nina-,"

Before she could finish her sentence, Nina's phone rang and she immediately picked it up. "Hello?"

Danielle sat back in her seat, her fingers drumming on the table as she waited for the brunette to finish her call.

"Wait, what…? Amber, you're talking a bit too fast… okay…we'll be there soon."

Nina ended the call and returned her attention to Danielle. "We have to go to Anubis house."

"Why?" she asked as they picked up their things and rushed out of the café.

Nina wrapped her scarf around her neck and dialed another number on her cell before looking at Danielle and saying, "Because, we got another letter and this one came with a surprise."

"A surprise?"

"Yep." Nina nodded. "Another jewel."

 _ **AN:** **It has been awhile since I have posted for this story, let alone this site. However, I do really love this idea and I'm going to try and finish it. The updates will probably not come regularly, but when I am inspired I will post. I apologize for the long wait, but it's been a long time since I've been in the right place to write. I'm only just getting back into everything. I hope that you liked the chapter and that you stay tuned because there is more coming.**_

 _ **-Karina**_


	9. Lost Memories and Wasted Kisses

Chapter 9: Lost Memories, Wasted Kisses, and Reconciliation

Nina didn't know what to expect when she burst through the door of Anubis house. An empty room with only the jewel at the center of the table? Her friends each glowing like mutants as a result of having touched the jewel? Or everyone lying dead on the floor of the dining room? She didn't know what to expect, and yet something in her knew that whatever was happening on the other side of those doors would be far from good.

Upon stepping into the house, she heard voices shouting at the top of their lungs followed by the strident sound of glass breaking. Nina frowned as she finally entered the room and saw Isaac and Fabian being held back from each other.

"What are you doing?" she cried as she rushed over to the pair.

"I told you that we couldn't trust him, Nina!" Fabian exclaimed. "He's keeping secrets to save himself!"

Nina's face dropped slightly at his words and she turned to face Isaac whose eyes were staring down at the floorboards.

"I'm sure there's an explanation," she told him.

Fabian rolled his eyes and slipped his arms out of Jerome's grasp. "For Christ's sake, stop defending him. You don't know anything about him."

Isaac lifted his head at those words and cast a sharp glance at Nina. His dark eyes were cloudy and full of something Nina couldn't quite put her finger on, and yet she didn't need any words to know what he was trying to communicate.

"Can I see the letter?"

Mick released Isaac and pulled the letter from his back pocket. "Here."

In sloppy handwriting it read: _The boy can guide you to the truth._

"This could mean anything, Fabian," she said after skimming the note.

Fabian was quiet for a moment as he looked between Nina and Isaac before scoffing and taking a step forward. "You already know his secret, don't you? You're choosing to protect him despite you having just met him?"

"For fuck's sake, get over yourself mate," Isaac snapped at Fabian. "You're not her fucking keeper, so why don't you take a seat across the room and cool down for a few minutes?"

Fabian backed up from Nina and lightly shook his head before he stepped forward and swung at Isaac. Isaac easily deflected his punch before throwing his own and hitting Fabian square in the jaw.

Shouts and pleas flooded the room as Fabian fell back on his butt. He remained quiet as he raised his hand and felt the blood ooze from the new wound. He laughed a bit before standing up, stumbling towards the other boy and colliding his fist with his nose. Isaac stumbled back slightly and watched as Jerome and Alfie both held Fabian back.

"Isaac-,"

Isaac ignored Nina as he spat blood onto the floor and rushed to the front of the house, passing Victor on his way out.

"What in Anubis's name is going on here?" Victor snarled as he stepped into the dining room.

No one said anything as everyone exchanged looks. Nina briefly met eyes with Fabian before shaking her head and heading to her room.

(***)

"Isaac!" Danielle called his name as she followed him down the gravel road. "I know you can hear me!"

"Don't you ever get tired of chasing after me?" he asked without casting her a glance.

"You're my best friend," she replied.

"Oh really?" He scoffed and sped up a bit. "You sure about that?"

Danielle's face dropped and she stopped in her tracks. Over the past few weeks, she had noticed a bit of tension between her and Isaac. She had assumed it was due to the whirlwind adventure they had been thrown into and yet she had started to see that he wasn't keeping to himself. Instead, he spent his time sharing secrets with Nina and jogging at 6 AM with Mick. He was avoiding her, filling his time up with new people, people that he hadn't trusted a couple weeks ago, and she didn't exactly know why.

"Hey!" she shouted before running up to him and pulling his arm back. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Upon meeting her eyes, Isaac shrugged and looked down at the ground. "Nothing."

"We never used to keep things from each other. Not until you began spending your time with Nina and Mick."

"Didn't you want me to make friends?"

Danielle sighed and nodded her head. "Yes, but-,"

"But what?" he cut her off. "Now you want me to stop talking to them? Focus my attention only on you?"

She frowned and took a slight step back. "No, I just, I want you to talk to me. You're my brother, Isaac."

Isaac paused at her sentence and Danielle saw a flicker of something in his eyes. However, it was gone before she could properly decipher it and say anything.

"I just need some time, okay?"

"Why? Please tell me why?" she pleaded.

Isaac's jaw tightened and his eyes flashed red before he said, "why don't you ask your dad?"

Danielle furrowed her brow. She had known something had happened at the police station the other day, but she had chosen not to ask, knowing she would have been shut down by both her father and Isaac if she had tried.

Isaac didn't wait for her to respond, using her hesitation to take his leave as he turned his back to her and headed to his house.

(***)

Nina had never been in Isis house. On her walks home she never noticed the aging brown structure. In fact, she couldn't remember the last time anyone had ever mentioned Isis house in a conversation. It existed in the background of everything, cloaked by the shadows surrounding it. It was like its inhabitants in that sense. It had a lot of secrets to keep.

Nina hovered outside the door for a couple seconds before taking a deep breath and racking her knuckles against the old wooden door. It only took a moment for the door to open, and Isaac to be face to face with the girl.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

Nina shrugged and walked past him, entering the house. Isaac sighed, but didn't protest as he closed the door behind her and turned to face Nina.

"I was worried about you," she told him. "Things got a bit intense back there."

Isaac chuckled a bit before nodding and taking a seat at the bottom of the steps. "You don't say."

Nina followed his action and sat beside him. "I'm sorry about Fabian."

"You shouldn't keep apologizing for him," he told her, lightly bumping shoulders with her. "Plus, he's right. I am keeping secrets."

"You shouldn't feel pressured to tell anyone your past unless you're ready."

"At this point, I don't think it's my secret to keep." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Everyone needs to know."

Nina didn't say anything then. She didn't want to tell him the truth. That she was worried about how everyone would react to his past. She didn't want them to reject him. Not when he was already such a crucial person in her life. She knew Fabian would get angry, but she also knew that Fabian wouldn't do anything that he knew would hurt her, and exiling Isaac _would_ hurt her. She wondered whether Isaac knew just how much it would.

Suddenly, Nina looked up and spotted a familiar green and red-berried plant above them. She smiled a bit before locking eyes with Isaac and carefully running her fingers over the bruises forming on his face.

"It's nothing," he tried to assure her, but it didn't matter because Nina wasn't focusing on the bruises. She just wanted to _look_ at him, and so she did until, without warning, she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his.

Isaac's eyes widened at the action and he immediately pulled back and turned his head.

"Nina." Her name escaped his lips sharp and breathless, almost as if he had been choking on it before it left him, and she felt her heart drop at the sound of it.

"I should go," she stated before quickly standing up. She headed for the door, gripping the doorknob with her left hand before pausing, and waiting to see if he would call her back.

Isaac merely watched her, his hands clasped in his lap and his jaw tight. He wanted to say something, he just didn't know what.

And so when all that met Nina's ears was silence, she left before he could see the tears in her eyes.

(***)

Ever since the night at the planetarium, Mick had been thinking. He had been thinking about what it had meant, or, actually, what it could have meant to Isaac.

It scared him, for some reason. Mick was not one to put a lot of thought into his past actions, but there was something about Isaac that always had him stray from what he thought he knew.

Isaac scared him. Every time he smiled at him, cast his dark brown eyes at him, placed a hand on him, he felt a cloud begin to loom over him. It was as if the more time he spent with the boy, a new omen would appear and at the moment Mick couldn't tell if it was a good one or a bad one.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Amber's voice pulled Mick away from his thoughts and he turned his head to the blonde at the doorway.

He let out a small laugh before saying, "Trust me, you don't want to waste a penny on me."

Amber rolled her eyes and took a seat across from Mick at the dining table. "Try me."

Mick was quiet for a moment before he pulled his chair in closer and focused his eyes on his former girlfriend. Amber was smart, Mick knew that. He had learned the hard way that she had a lot more to offer than initially believed. For that reason, Mick knew he had to be careful about what he said. After all, Mick wasn't sure he was ready to face the truth of it all.

"I, I think that I'm feeling things… things that I have never felt before, that I shouldn't be feeling at all."

The statement hung in the air for a few seconds before Amber nodded and lifted her eyes to meet his.

"Why do you think you shouldn't feel these things?"

"Because… because I can't," he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I just can't."

Something seemed to shift in Amber's eyes and she leaned forward and placed a hand over his. "Mick…"

He shook his head lightly and refused to meet her eyes. "I know that I'm being vague, but I just can't bring myself to say it out loud."

"I can't help you unless you tell me, Mick," her voice was soft in an attempt to relax him, but even from where she sat Mick was sure that she could hear his heart beating.

"I can't." It came out as a whisper and Amber squeezed Mick's hand in response.

She offered him a sympathetic smile and removed her hand from his. "It's okay. Take your time."

"I have to go."

The sentence came out abruptly and Amber frowned as she watched Mick retreat into himself right before her very eyes.

"Mick-,"

Before she could finish, he stood up and left the dining room.

(***)

Isaac had meant to go after Nina. In his head, he saw himself standing up and following her out the door, refusing to stop until he reached her. But he had stayed put due the sheer fact that he didn't know what he would say if she had stopped to hear him out.

He could tell her the truth, but that would mean opening himself up in a way he hadn't in months. It would mean opening himself up to the possibility that Nina would never look at him the same way again.

He hadn't meant to hurt her. He was just surprised. After all, there was a lot going on and the timing of it just felt so… inappropriate.

He had more important things to worry about like the fact that he had both an Egyptian God and a crazy group of middle-aged men after him. He also had a whole new set of memories to sort through.

Isaac had begun the process of slowly piecing together his past the other day. All around his room were half-drawn sketches of the 8-year gap that had existed in his memory. Drawings of his mom were mixed in with those of the men that had taken him. It all felt so unreal as if everything before him had been conjured up in an attempt to keep Isaac from remembering the truth.

And yet, everything that stood before him was the truth. It had just taken him eight long years to uncover it.

Isaac sighed and he ran a hand over a smudged image by his bed. His mother stood tall, her dark hair pulled back and her arm wrapped around his father's waist. His father's expression was warmer than he could ever recall it being, life in his dark brown eyes and a bright wide smile on his face. They were beaming at him as he ran into a crowded building, navy school uniform already wrinkled. He must have been six in that particular moment. His mother would be dead in less than a year.

Isaac turned away from the drawing abruptly, an uneasy feeling settling into his stomach as he was met with the dozens of images of torture and pain. His eyes lingered on one particularly moment that he had drawn: him getting his tattoo. He pulled the picture from its spot on his wall and brought it close to his face.

The room was practically barren. No windows, white walls, only a bed with fitted white sheets, and a nightstand with a small lamp. He was being held down by four adults as he yelled out in pain, blood and ink staining his arm and the sheets.

Isaac remembered what came after. They all had left the room, and he had tucked his legs into himself, wrapped his arms around his knees, and cried himself to sleep, his arm stinging the entire time, serving as a constant reminder that that was his life.

The next day, he had tried to kill himself.

One of the men came into his room with breakfast (a piece of toast and a cup of tea), and had found him trying to wrap the lamp's cord around his neck.

It seemed ineffective now that Isaac was thinking about it, desperate and rushed, but after all, he had only been seven. He had only been seven and already he had decided that life wasn't worth it anymore.

They moved him to a different room after the incident. This time there was no bed or nightstand or lamp. It was empty, as desolate as he once was.

Isaac wished that he could give some of it back. That he could gather up his recovered memories and throw them back into the dark pit that they had been lying dormant in for eight years.

He wished that he could pick and choose.

Isaac sighed before he stood up and began to take down some of the drawings. Once the worst of them were on Isaac's floor, he walked out of his room and down the hall to Danielle's.

He hesitated before knocking.

After a couple seconds, Danielle opened the door.

"Hi," she stated as she offered him a small smile. "Are you ready to talk?"

"That depends," he replied. "Is your roommate home?"

Danielle shook her head and she opened her door all the way, allowing Isaac to enter and walk past her. He took a seat on the end of her bed and watched as she closed the door behind him and took a seat across from him.

"Okay," she let out a deep breath and looked him in the eyes. "Talk to me."

"Do you remember meeting me?"

The question felt random and abrupt to Danielle, and yet it was the one question that had been bubbling in Isaac's memory since he had found out the truth.

She shifted uncomfortably and nodded. "Of course."

"I didn't," he informed her. "It was just another washed up memory in my fucked up head… everything was cloudy because of them. They pulled memories from my head that year that I was taken. I couldn't remember my childhood… I couldn't remember my mother."

"Wait," Danielle shook her head, her brow furrowed. "I don't understand. Who's _they_? When were you taken?"

Isaac scoffed before he set his eyes back on Danielle, a new fire in them. "Do you remember when I was seven?"

Danielle thought for a moment before nodding. "Yeah. You left school for like a year."

"What did he tell you that year?"

"Who?"

"Your dad." His jaw tightened as he mentioned him and he added. "What did he tell you about my sudden disappearance?"

Danielle shrugged and ran a hand through her hair. "I don't know. Just that you and your father had taken some much needed time away after your mother died."

"It didn't strike you as odd when I came back with a tattoo and no memories of the supposed 'time away?'"

She frowned at his inquiry and tried to search for a viable excuse before lightly shaking her head and saying, "my dad said-,"

"Well, your dad lied," Isaac cut her off immediately and stood up from her bed. "I was kidnapped when I was seven. For a year, I was subjected to torture as you slept at night, never the wiser."

"Isaac-,"

"And your dad knew!" Isaac laughed bitterly and lightly shook his head. "Your dad has known for years and I only found out a couple days ago. It was all buried in my head. The first eight years of my life, poof. I have spent most of my life living in blissful ignorance, making up memories, living off pictures. But now I know the truth… and I wish I didn't."

Danielle was quiet for a long moment then, before she stood up and began to walk over to him. Isaac retreated at her movement and she sighed.

"I didn't know."

Isaac's face didn't soften at her statement and he took another step back.

"I was only eight, Isaac! How could I have known?"

"I'm your best friend!" he countered. "How could you not have known?"

Her face fell at the question and she tried once again, in vain, to approach him. "Please don't shut me out because of this."

"I," Isaac paused before stating, more firmly, "I just need time. Right now, I can barely look at you without seeing him, so please, just give me a week or two. I need to sort out my shit and I can't do that with you there."

Danielle's lower lip quivered as she tried to fight the urge to cry before she nodded. "Okay."

Isaac nodded in return and, without casting her another look, slipped past her to the door and left her room.

(***)

Isaac found himself outside of Anubis house at 7PM. He knocked on the door in a rush and immediately shoved his hands into his pockets to keep them from freezing.

It was Mick that opened the door. "Isaac, what are you doing here?"

"I came to talk… to everyone this time," he told him.

Mick nodded and he stepped aside, allowing Isaac to enter the foyer.

"Thanks. The snow is falling kind of heavy tonight," he stated, a small smile on his face.

Mick returned the smile and nodded towards the living area. "Everyone's eating."

Isaac let out a deep breath and he entered the connected room. As soon as he stepped in, all conversation stopped and everyone turned to him.

"Isaac." His name escaped Nina's lips and his eyes fell on her for a moment before he cleared his throat and focused his attention on Fabian.

"You were right," he confessed. "I have been keeping a secret, and I'm sorry for lying about it, but before I tell you, you need to hear something. I have done nothing to prove that I can't be trusted. I have gone through more shit in the past few weeks than any of you will go through in your entire lives combined. And let me remind you that I didn't even want to be a part of this, but you all insisted that I be dragged into it. You don't get to be pissed off. You weren't the one that was shot or strangled or kidnapped, which I will get to in a moment. You've just been along for the ride. Right now, I'm extending an olive branch because I'm done with the pointless drama. Frankly, I have more important things to worry about. _We_ have more important things to worry about. So, I'm asking you, for the sake of all our lives, can we move on and focus on what really matters?"

The whole room was silent as Fabian and Isaac stared at each other. They were all waiting to see who would make the first move. Well, technically, they were all waiting for who would make the second move since there Isaac was standing in front of them, ready to bare his heart out.

With the screeching groan of his chair, Fabian stood up and walked over to the teen. Once he was in front of him, he regarded him carefully before extending his hand. Isaac nodded, a small smirk tugging at the corner of his lips, and he took his hand and shook it.

As soon as the two shook hands, the room broke out in thunderous applause. Everyone at the table stood up and went to pat Isaac in the back and extend their own apologies. Isaac looked past the throng of people and met eyes with Nina, who remained where she sat, a grin on her face.

(***)

"You didn't have to tell them," Nina told him as they walked down a snow covered path.

After Isaac revealed everything to the Anubis housemates, Nina had insisted on walking him back to Isis house.

"I know," he nodded as he glanced at her, snow distorting his vision slightly. "But I was tired of keeping it a secret. Plus, the only way to find out the truth is to work together."

Nina beamed at his response before she lowered her head and cleared her throat. "Umm, so about earlier-,"

"We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," he assured her.

Nina shook her head and suddenly stopped walking. "It's just… I'm sorry. I was out of line. With everything going on, it was just completely inappropriate."

Isaac offered her a timid smile before shoving his hands into his pockets and shrugging.

"I mean, there _was_ a mistletoe. The school has really stepped it up with their holiday decorations," he let out a small laugh as he gestured to all the twinkling lights around them.

She laughed in return, grateful for his understanding. "Yeah, I guess that is true."

"Don't worry. I think we're clear of the meddling faculty and their badly placed mistletoes out here."

Nina smiled at his playful statement and lightly hit his arm. She looked at him then, the dim lights of the tree behind them making his eyes shine.

"Isaac,"

His name left her lips as a whisper and yet he could hear so much behind it.

She had held it out for too long, the two syllables in his name sounding like the melody of her favorite song.

She had been falling, too fast and too deep. And Isaac was the one that had caught her.

He could see it now. The way she smiled a bit too widely, laughed a bit too loudly, kept her hand on his arm for a bit too long. It had been going on for weeks and yet there they were standing a bit too close, snowflakes surrounding them, and Isaac only _just_ getting it.

"Nina,"

Breath curled out of his mouth and Nina's eyes closed for a moment. She just wanted to know if he felt what she felt, if he wanted what she wanted.

And maybe all she was doing was setting herself up for heartbreak, but there was something in the way the night had gone that pushed that thought to the back of her mind. _He had stayed_.

She needed to say something, but what could she say to keep him from turning away?

"Can I…"

It was Isaac's turn to close his eyes as the weight of her question sank in. It'd be so easy to just nod and say yes. It'd be easy to accept all that she was offering to him in that moment. It'd be easy to love her.

Isaac knew that, hell, he wanted that. Yet there was that damn voice in the back of his head reminding him that the easy option was not always the right one.

Isaac opened his eyes then and he looked at her, really looked at her. She was beautiful, all rosy cheeks and white flecks on pale eyelashes. To hell with that voice in his head, he needed to try. He needed to _know_. Maybe unfamiliarity could become his new home.

"Okay."

So she leaned in, breath against skin, and closed the space between them. His lips were just barely chapped from the cold and they parted slightly at the contact.

And it was everything and nothing all at once. Nina saw yellow and red and all the colors of fire dance in her head, ridding her of the cold that penetrated her body for the moment. Isaac saw black and blue, waves crashing into all his thoughts and space consuming everything in his head, leaving him with an overwhelming feeling of nothingness.

Isaac also felt hurt, a pain so sharp that it'd make someone envy a person that had just been shot. And he didn't exactly know why. All he knew was that kissing Nina hurt. It hurt because he wanted so badly to _feel_ something, anything, and yet he felt nothing.

Nina also felt relief, a wave so calming it'd be a good omen to sailors. And it was all she had been hoping for. Kissing Isaac was calming. It made her feel safe and at ease all at once. It was everything.

Which is why when Isaac pulled away and lightly shook his head, a frown settling on his face, a piece of her broke.

"I'm sorry, but I can't."

"Oh,"

"It's not you or the kiss. I'm just,"

"Don't."

Isaac's face fell further at the word and he locked eyes with Nina. He reached up and brushed a tear from her cheek. "Let me ex-,"

"Please," she sighed. "Don't. Not now."

Isaac wanted to say something. He needed to tell her the truth. He needed to tell someone the truth because he knew that if he didn't, he'd end up burying it again and slowly become undone.

So he made up his mind. He was going to tell her, but then she looked at him again, fresh tears rolling down her cheeks, and he couldn't. He didn't want to hurt her even more. And that's what his secret would do, right? Hurt her? So Isaac nodded, shoved his hands into his pockets, and let his thoughts eat away at him.

 _ **AN: So it's been a hot second. I'm not giving up on this story. I love writing it, but I'm also very busy. I try to post when I can. Hopefully you all understand that. I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as I can. Thanks and I hope you enjoy reading. There's a lot more to come.**_

 _ **-Karina**_


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